Justice Soumen Sen Appointed Meghalaya High Court Chief Justice Amid Major Judicial Reshuffle

New Delhi – In a significant development for the Indian judiciary, the Union government has formally notified the appointment of Justice Soumen Sen, a senior judge from the Calcutta High Court, as the new Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court. The appointment, part of a broader series of judicial elevations and transfers across the country, underscores a concerted effort to fill leadership vacancies and bolster judicial strength in several key High Courts.

The official notification from the Union Ministry of Law and Justice, issued on Friday, stated, "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 Soumen Sen, Judge, Calcutta High Court, to be the Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office."

This move follows a recommendation made on September 11 by the Supreme Court Collegium, currently headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai. Justice Sen's elevation fills the vacancy created by the retirement of former Chief Justice Indra Prasanna Mukerji on September 5. In the interim, Justice Hamarsan Singh Thangkhiew had been serving as the Acting Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court.

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A Distinguished Career: The Profile of Justice Soumen Sen

Born on July 27, 1965, Justice Soumen Sen brings a wealth of experience to his new leadership role. He enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of West Bengal in January 1991 and built a formidable practice over two decades, primarily at the Calcutta High Court. His expertise spanned both the original and appellate sides of the court, and he appeared in a diverse range of matters, including civil, constitutional, banking, and arbitration cases.

During his time at the Bar, he also served as a Senior Central Government Advocate, representing prominent statutory authorities such as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). This experience provided him with a deep understanding of complex financial and regulatory law.

His judicial career began on April 13, 2011, when he was elevated as a judge of the Calcutta High Court. During his long tenure, he presided over numerous significant cases. More recently, following the retirement of Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam, Justice Sen was appointed as the Acting Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court on September 15, 2025, under Article 223 of the Constitution, a position he held until his current appointment.

Notably, Justice Sen’s tenure at the Calcutta High Court was also marked by a widely reported judicial disagreement with a fellow judge, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, over a specific case. The matter escalated, eventually requiring the intervention of the Supreme Court, drawing public and legal attention to the internal dynamics of the High Court bench.

Ripple Effects: Consequential Appointments in Calcutta and Beyond

Justice Sen's move to Meghalaya has triggered a domino effect, leading to consequential changes in the leadership of the Calcutta High Court. The Centre's notification confirmed that Justice Sujoy Paul, also a judge of the Calcutta High Court, will take over as the Acting Chief Justice of that court.

This appointment is one of many announced in a sweeping reshuffle. The government also cleared the appointment of Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma of the Rajasthan High Court to serve as the Acting Chief Justice of that court following the retirement of Justice Kalpathi Rajendran Shriram on September 27.

Tackling Vacancies: Major Appointments in Allahabad and Other High Courts

The recent notifications also reflect a significant push to address the persistent issue of judicial vacancies. The Allahabad High Court, which has a sanctioned strength of 160 judges but was functioning with only 84 as of September 1, received a major boost with the appointment of 24 new judges.

The government notified the appointment of 10 advocates and 14 judicial officers to the bench. The newly appointed judges from the Bar are: Vivek Saran, Vivek Kumar Singh, Garima Prashad, Sudhanshu Chauhan, Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary, Swarupama Chaturvedi, Siddharth Nandan, Kunal Ravi Singh, Indrajeet Shukla, and Satya Veer Singh.

The judicial officers elevated to the High Court are: Dr Ajay Kumar-II, Chawan Prakash, Divesh Chandra Samant, Prashant Mishra-I, Tarun Saxena, Rajeev Bharti, Padam Narain Mishra, Lakshmi Kant Shukla, Jai Prakash Tiwari, Devendra Singh-I, Sanjiv Kumar, Vani Ranjan Agrawal, Achal Sachdev, and Babita Rani.

However, the government has reportedly withheld its decision on two other advocates—Adnan Ahmad and Jai Krishna Upadhyay—who were also part of the Collegium's recommendation for the Allahabad High Court.

Simultaneously, other High Courts also saw an increase in their judicial strength:

• Himachal Pradesh High Court: Two advocates, Jiya Lal Bhardwaj and Romesh Verma, were appointed as judges, addressing the shortfall in a court functioning with 11 judges against a sanctioned strength of 17.
• Karnataka High Court: Three judicial officers—Geetha Kadaba Bharatharaja Setty, Muralidhara Pai Borkatte, and Tyagaraja Narayan Inavally—were cleared for appointment as judges.

Legal and Constitutional Framework of Appointments

These appointments are a manifestation of the procedure established under the Constitution of India for the staffing of the higher judiciary. Article 217(1) vests the power of appointing High Court judges in the President, who acts on the aid and advice of the government, which in turn considers the binding recommendations of the Supreme Court Collegium. The appointment of Acting Chief Justices is governed by Article 223, which allows the President to appoint a senior-most judge of the court to perform the duties when the office of the Chief Justice is vacant or the Chief Justice is unable to perform their duties.

The recent flurry of notifications highlights the ongoing, dynamic process of judicial administration, involving close coordination between the executive and the judiciary. For the legal community, these changes signal shifts in judicial leadership, potential recalibration of benches, and, most importantly, a reinforced judiciary better equipped to tackle the immense caseloads across the country. Justice Sen's leadership at the Meghalaya High Court will be closely watched as he takes the helm of one of the country's newer high courts.