Centre notifies appointment of CJs of Bombay, Madras HCs

The Union government on Friday notified the appointment of Justice R D Dhanuka as the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court.

He would have a short tenure of four days as he would superannuate on May 30.

The Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud had recommended his name for appointment as High Court Chief Justice in a meeting held on April 19, 2023.

Read | SC Collegium recommends three Delhi judicial officers' names for HC judgeship

In another decision, the Union government also cleared the appointment of acting Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court S V Gangapurwala as Chief Justice of the Madras High Court.

The Collegium made the recommendation for his appointment in their meeting held on April 19, 2023.

The Madras High Court's acting chief justice T Raja retired on May 24.

On April 19, the Collegium had reiterated the recommendation for the elevation of Justice Raja as the chief justice of the Rajasthan High Court. However, the Centre did not act upon it.

Notably, the office of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Bombay has been lying vacant for quite some time, following the elevation of Justice Dipankar Datta to the Supreme Court.

Born in 1961, Justice Dhanuka completed his schooling in Mumbai. He acquired the Bachelor's degree in Commerce and Law from the University of Bombay.

He was on the senior counsel panel of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai for several years. He joined the bench as an additional judge of the Bombay High Court on January 23, 2012.

Justice Gangapurwala, who would be taking charge as the Madras HC Chief Justice, was born on May 24, 1962.

He stood third in the order of merit in the LLB examination and started practice in the year 1985 and joined the chambers of advocate S N Loya. He practised in trial court, high court and Debt Recovery Tribunal.

He is a keen sportsman who played lawn tennis at the national level and represented Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marthwada University six times and captained it twice in the All India University Tournament. He also played basketball at the state level.