Govt clears appointment of Jharkhand, Kerala, Patna, Meghalaya HC CJs
The Central Government on Friday cleared the appointment of Justice MS Sonak, presently a judge of the Bombay High Court, as the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court. The Law Ministry also notified the transfer of Justice Soumen Sen, who is presently the Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court, to the Kerala High Court.
The Government also notified the appointment of Orissa HC Justice Sangam Kumar Sahoo as Patna High Court Chief Justice and Bombay HC Justice Revati Mohite Dere as Meghalaya High Court Chief Justice. The appointments follow a recommendation made by the Supreme Court Collegium at its meeting held on December 18, 2025.
Justice Sonak will assume office as Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court upon the retirement of the incumbent Chief Justice, Tarlok Singh Chauhan, on January 8, 2026. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal announced the development on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) today, stating that the President of India had approved Justice Sonak’s appointment as Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court.
