Woman HC Chief Justice Among 14 Judicial Appointments

New Delhi, Aug 1 (UNI) The appointment of two High Court Chief Justices, including a woman, and twelve Additional Judges by President Pratibha Patil was announced by the Law and Justice Ministry today.

Rajasthan HC Judge Gyan Sudha Misra has been appointed Chief Justice of the Jharkhand HC, making her the only woman now heading one of India's 21 HCs, the Ministry said.

The first woman to become a HC Chief Justice in India was Leila Seth, who was appointed Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh HC in 1991.

Allahabad HC Judge Balbir Singh Chauhan has been appointed Chief Justice of the Orissa HC, an announcement said.

The Ministry also announced the appointment of: -- Advocates Kamalkishor Kapoorchandji Tated, Prasanna Bhalachandra Varale and Shahrukh Jimi Kathawalla as Additional Judges of the Bombay HC; -- Krishnaswami Chandru, V Ramasubramanian, S Mani Kumar and A Selvam as Additional Judges of the Madras HC in that order of seniority; and -- Suresh Chandra Chaurasia, Syed Nazim Husain Zaidi, Vedpal, Brahma Nand Shukla and Raj Mani Chauhan as Additional Judges of the Allahabad HC.

All appointments take effect from the day the appointees assume office, which the Madras HC Additional Judges did on July 31, the announcements said.

All 12 Additional Judge apppointments are for two years each, they said.

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