CHANDIGARH: The Centre is yet to notify Justice Sabina, the Himachal Pradesh high court’s acting chief justice, as chief justice, with only a day left for her retirement on April 19 as the uncertainty threatens her financial and other benefits.
Justice Sabina took over as the acting chief justice on January 21 this year. The judge’s daughter is an accused in a murder case.
On February 8, the Supreme Court collegium headed by CJI DY Chandrachud had recommended Justice Sabina’s elevation while naming the Chief Justices of the Patna, Guwahati and Tripura high courts.
The Centre has notified the others.
An HC chief justice gets the pay, perks and pension equal to a Supreme Court judge. Justice Sabina is the senior-most woman judge of any high court in the country, and one of the senior-most overall.
The Centre notifies the SC collegium’s recommendations after considering several factors, including intelligence reports.
Justice Sabina’s daughter is an accused in the 2015 murder of Sukhmanpreet Singh alias Sippy Sidhu, a national-level shooter and advocate, in Chandigarh. She is facing trial before a special CBI court.
She was arrested earlier and is now on regular bail.
Earlier, when Justice Sabina was posted in the Punjab and Haryana high court, the deceased’s family had urged the Centre to transfer her out of the high court to ensure the investigation was not “influenced”.
Justice Sabina was shifted to the Rajasthan high court in 2016 in what was then termed a “routine administrative reshuffle” and from there to the Himachal high court earlier this year.
Viewed as a “competent and meritorious” judge in judicial circles, Justice Sabina had started her career as a lawyer in the Punjab and Haryana HC before her selection in the Punjab Superior Judicial Services in 1997. She was later elevated as judge of the Punjab and Haryana HC in March 2008.
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Ajay Sura is Senior Assistant Editor with The Times of India Chan...
Read MoreAjay Sura is Senior Assistant Editor with The Times of India Chandigarh. He covers news concerning the State of Haryana, Punjab & Haryana High Court and Defence & Military Affairs. He likes to analyse political developments and decoding judicial pronouncements. His hobbies include travelling, mountaineering and trekking.
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