Punjab Government Opposes Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra's Appointment As Chief Justice Of P&H High Court

The Punjab Government cabinet on Sunday passed a resolution against the Central government decision for the appointment of Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court alleging that decision was taken “without its consent.”

The State Government demanded that Justice Mishra shouldn't be administered oath till its views are taken. The President had notified Justice Mishra's appointment as the CJ yesterday pursuant to the SC Collegium's recommendation.

Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra was transferred to the Punjab & Haryana High Court in July 2025 from Allahabad High Court and after elevation of Justice Sheel Nagu to Supreme Court, he was the Acting Chief Justice of the P&H High Court.

The Supreme Court Collegium had recommended the Justice Mishra's elevation on August 6 and the  Central government cleared the recommendation on Saturday night and notified Justice Mishra's appointment as Chief Justice.

The Government said in a statement, “Taking serious exception to the appointment of Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court without awaiting the views of the Punjab Government, the Cabinet resolved that the appointment and administration of oath should be put on hold until Punjab's views are obtained and duly considered.

It alleged that the Law Minister hurriedly notified its appointment without waiting for State's opinion.

"As such, the feeling of perceived discrimination gets solidified in the sense that when a case of a Judge of the State of Punjab is to be considered, it is dealt differently as that in a case of another Judge from another High Court getting appointed in the State of Punjab," It added.

The Government cited the case of Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia, who had been recommended to be appointed as the Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2024.

Punjab government said that this proposal was not notified by the Ministry of Law and Justice for more than two months on not receiving the recommendation from the Madhya Pradesh State Government.

Later, Justice Sandhawalia was appointed to Himachal Pradesh High Court. The Punjab government said this demonstrated that the Centre was discriminating against Punjab.

"As such, the feeling of perceived discrimination gets solidified in the sense that when a case of a Judge of the State of Punjab is to be considered, it is dealt differently as that in a case of another Judge from another High Court getting appointed in the State of Punjab," it stated.

The Government urged that Justice Mishra's oath and administrative duty must be put on hold until its views are taken and duly considered.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann taking it to X stated that the Central government was continuously attacking the rights of Punjab.

"Today, the Punjab Cabinet unanimously passed an important resolution against the continued assault on Punjab's rights by the Central Government and the violation of constitutional norms. Appointing the new Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court without obtaining the consent of the State Government is a direct violation of the prescribed procedures (Memorandum of Procedure) and constitutional norms.”

Justice Mishra enrolled as an Advocate on May 08, 1993, and was designated as a Senior Advocate in 2013. He took oath as Additional Judge on Feb 03, 2014, and as a permanent Judge on Feb 01, 2016, at Allahabad. Later, he was transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Chandigarh, where he joined on July 21, 2025.