After 46 Days, Tripura High Court Gets Aparesh Kumar Singh As New Chief Justice

On Tuesday, Aparesh Kumar Singh, a justice of the Jharkhand high court, was named chief justice of the Tripura high court. A notification released in this regard reads thus: "In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (1) of Article 217 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, Judge of the Jharkhand High Court, to be the Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office."

On January 25, the collegium approved the nomination of Justice Jaswant Singh, a judge of the Orissa high court, as chief justice of the Tripura high court. However, a week after Justice Singh's appointment, on February 19, 2023, Justice Singh announced his retirement from the service. The collegium then recommended that Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh be appointed chief justice of the Tripura high court. Since Justice Indrajit Mahanty retired from the Tripura High Court on November 10 of last year, the position of chief justice has been vacant.

Todupunuri Amarnath Goud, who took over as interim chief justice of the Tripura high court in February, has been replaced by Singh. Since 1990, Singh has worked as a lawyer in the high courts of Patna and Jharkhand. Later, in 2012, he was elevated to the position of additional judge in the Jharkhand High Court. From December 22, 2017 to February 19, 2018, he also served as the high court's interim chief justice. 

Kiren Rijiju, the Union Minister of Law, tweeted about the appointment from his official Twitter account. "According to the applicable clauses in the Indian Constitution, the President of India appointed Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, a judge on the Jharkhand High Court, as the Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court." 

As per the relevant provisions under the Constitution of India, President of India has appointed Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, Judge of Jharkhand High Court as the Chief Justice of Tripura High Court.

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) April 11, 2023

After Justice Jaswant Singh retirement, the Supreme Court collegium, presided over by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, recommended Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh for appointment as the Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court. In a statement, the collegium had stated: "The collegium resolves to recommend that Mr. Justice Apresh Kumar Singh be appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Tripura upon the retirement of Mr. Justice Jaswant Singh."

The Tripura High Court was set up in March, 2013, along with the full-fledged High Courts in Meghalaya and Manipur. All the northeastern states, excluding Sikkim, were earlier under the Guwahati High Court.