NEW DELHI: The high courts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, are all set to get new chief justices as part of a shuffle in the judiciary. The five-member collegium of the Supreme Court cleared the proposals on Monday and as part of that, also approved the proposal to swap Sikkim High Court Chief Justice Arup Kumar Goswami and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Justice Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari. The Collegium’s recommendations will be sent to President Ram Nath Kovind for his consent. Orders to this effect and official notifications are expected to be issued shortly after the government approves the recommendations.

Delhi High Court judge Hima Kohli is expected to be elevated as the Chief Justice of Telangana, replacing Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chouhan who has been reportedly transferred to Uttarakhand.

Andhra Pradesh High Court CJ

Justice Arup Kumar Goswami, who replaces Chief Justice Maheshwari, will be the second Chief Justice of AP after bifurcation. Justice Maheshwari was the first Chief Justice after the erstwhile High Court of Judicature was divided between Andhra and Telangana and had taken charge on October 7, 2019.

Justice Arup Kumar was appointed CJ of the Sikkim High Court in 2019. Born in 1961 at Jorhat in Assam, Chief Justice Goswami graduated from the government law college in Guwahati in 1985 and practised mainly in civil, criminal, constitutional and service matters. He was appointed as permanent judge in the Gauhati High Court in 2012.

Telangana High Court CJ

Justice Hima Kohli, who will be the Telangana Chief Justice, is a permanent judge in the Delhi High Court since 2007. Justice Hima Kohli would also be the first woman Chief Justice of Telangana High Court. Justice Hima Kohli graduated from the University of Delhi in 1984 and practiced as an advocate in Delhi High Court. On May 29, 2006, she was appointed as Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court and took oath as permanent Judge on August 29, 2007.

The Andhra Pradesh High Court currently has 18 sitting judges besides the Chief Justice while the Telangana High Court has 13 judges.