Two High Court judges, who took oath early in 2018, are set to retire within a month of taking charge, Hindustan Times reported, quoting an official in the Law Ministry.
Abhilasha Kumari, the first woman Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court who took oath on 9 February, is set to retire on 22 February. Chief Justice of Meghalaya Tarun Agarwala, who was appointed on 12 February, ends his term on 2 March, the report added.
Meanwhile, Antony Dominic, who heads the Kerala High Court, is slated to retire on 29 May after being appointed on 6 February.
After their names were cleared by the Supreme Court collegium on 10 January, the two judges would be relieved of their duties in less than a month of their appointment.
The early retirements are likely to begin the process of reappointment, which would take a while, the official told HT. The government was “not likely to clear these appointments in the coming days,” another official in the Law Ministry acquainted with the process.
A demand for the revision of Memorandum of Procedure for appointment of judges has been echoed by experts since a long time.
(With inputs from Hindustan Times)
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