Who Is Sonia Giridhar Gokani? Chief Justice Of Gujarat High Court

On Sunday, February 12, the Union government cleared the appointment of chief justices for four high courts. Judge Sonia Giridhar Gokani is set to become the first female chief justice of the Gujarat High court since its inception in 1960.

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju announced the appointments of Justice Gokani to the Gujarat high court, Justice Sandeep Mehta to the chief justice of Gauhati high court, Justice Jaswant Singh as chief justice of Tripura, and Justice N Kotiswar Singh as chief of justice of the high court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.

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Who Is Sonia Giridhar Gokani?

• On February 9, a Supreme Court collegium comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, and Justice KM Joseph recommended Justice Sonia Giridhar Gokani's name to the centre.
• Gokani was appointed as acting chief justice of the Gujarat high court.
• The apex court collegium said, "Besides being the senior most Judge, the appointment of Justice Gokani will bring a sense of inclusion and facilitate a representation for judges drawn from the services in the office of Chief Justice."
• Justice Gokani will be the first woman judge to head the Gujarat high court and is set to retire on February 25.
• She was appointed as judge of the Gujarat high court on February 17, 2011, making her the senior most judge of the high court.
• Justice Gokani will be the first woman judge to head the Gujarat high court in 63 years of its existence.
• She will only serve as acting chief justice for 14 days until she turns 62 years old.
• High court judges retire on reaching 62 years of age, while Supreme Court judges retire at 65.
• The Supreme Court collegium asked the government to "immediately" appoint Justice Gokani as the Chief Justice following the elevation of Justice Aravind Kumar, who was serving as the Chief Justice of Gujarat high court to the Supreme Court.