Chandigarh: An emergency meeting of the Punjab Cabinet was convened via video conferencing following the official notification confirming the appointment of Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Cabinet members joined the proceedings from Deputy Commissioner offices in their respective districts to review the situation. The state leadership discussed the official response to the development and evaluated whether to call a session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha to deliberate on the matter. Justice Mishra had previously been serving as the Acting Chief Justice of the High Court.
The administrative discussion comes after a High Court Bench led by Justice Mishra delivered a judgment regarding pending dearness allowance payments for state employees. State representatives maintained that formal concurrence had not been extended regarding the regular appointment prior to the issuance of the central notification following the Supreme Court Collegium recommendation. Party leadership had earlier raised administrative observations on social media regarding seniority norms in judicial appointments. The Cabinet maintained its focus on reviewing procedural aspects and determining the appropriate constitutional and legislative steps going forward.
