Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad Takes Charge as Acting Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court

Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad was appointed as the acting chief justice of the Jharkhand High Court following the short tenure of Chief Justice Bidyut Ranjan Sarangi, who will demit office on July 19. Several recent instances have seen judges with brief tenures as chief justices.

Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad has been appointed as the acting chief justice of the Jharkhand High Court, starting from July 20, as confirmed by a law ministry notification.

This appointment follows the short stint of Chief Justice Bidyut Ranjan Sarangi, who will step down on July 19 after serving since July 3. Justice Sarangi, previously a judge of the Orissa High Court, had his name recommended by the Supreme Court collegium in December last year.

The judiciary has seen a pattern of brief tenures for new chief justices in recent times, with Justice Ramesh Deokinandan Dhanuka of the Bombay High Court, Justice Sonia Gokani of the Gujarat High Court, and Justice Jaswant Singh of the Tripura High Court all having similarly short terms. Notably, Supreme Court judges retire at the age of 65, whereas high court judges retire at 62.

(With inputs from agencies.)