Chandigarh : Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday, amid an escalating dispute between the Punjab government and the Centre over the manner in which his appointment was cleared.
The swearing-in ceremony, held at Punjab Lok Bhawan in Chandigarh, was attended by Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, however, stayed away from the ceremony, a significant departure from the convention under which the chief ministers of Punjab and Haryana generally attend the oath-taking of the Chief Justice of their common High Court.
Mann’s absence came a day after the Punjab Cabinet, at an emergency meeting, formally opposed Justice Mishra’s appointment. The Aam Aadmi Party government alleged that the Centre had proceeded with the appointment without awaiting the Punjab government’s views and demanded that the administration of the oath be deferred until the state’s position was considered.
Despite the Punjab government’s objection, Justice Mishra took oath after the President formally notified his appointment following the recommendation of the Supreme Court Collegium.
The controversy has transformed what would ordinarily have been a formal judicial appointment into a fresh Centre-state confrontation, with the Mann government portraying the matter as an issue of Punjab’s constitutional rights and the Centre maintaining that the prescribed procedure for judicial appointments was followed.
Punjab Cabinet Objects to Appointment
The Punjab Cabinet’s resolution on Sunday expressed “serious” concern over the appointment, arguing that the state government’s views should have been obtained before the process was completed.
The state government said the appointment and administration of oath should be kept on hold until Punjab’s views were sought and duly considered. It also questioned the manner in which the Union government moved ahead with the appointment.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann subsequently criticised the Centre, accusing it of repeatedly undermining Punjab’s rights and constitutional position.
For the AAP government, the issue is not being presented as an objection to Justice Mishra’s professional competence. Rather, its principal argument centres on the consultation process and the role of the elected state government in matters concerning the High Court serving Punjab and Haryana.
The Centre, however, has rejected the suggestion that Punjab possesses a veto over the appointment. The constitutional process for appointing High Court Chief Justices involves the Supreme Court Collegium and the Union government, while the views of the concerned state governments are part of the consultation process.
Justice Mishra’s elevation followed a recommendation by the Supreme Court Collegium on August 6. The Centre subsequently cleared the recommendation and the President notified his appointment as Chief Justice.
From Acting Chief Justice to Full-Time Chief Justice
Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra has considerable judicial experience and has served in both the Allahabad High Court and the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
He enrolled as an advocate on May 8, 1993, and practised primarily in civil, constitutional and service-law matters. He represented a number of statutory bodies and public-sector institutions during his legal career and was designated a Senior Advocate in 2013.
He was appointed an Additional Judge of the Allahabad High Court on February 3, 2014, and became a permanent judge on February 1, 2016.
Justice Mishra was transferred from the Allahabad High Court to the Punjab and Haryana High Court and took charge in Chandigarh on July 21, 2025. Following the elevation of Justice Sheel Nagu to the Supreme Court, he was appointed Acting Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court earlier this year.
His appointment as full-time Chief Justice now formalises the position he had already been performing as the Acting Chief Justice.
Mann’s Absence Carries Political Significance
The decision by Bhagwant Mann to stay away from the oath-taking ceremony has attracted particular attention because it came immediately after the Cabinet’s resolution against the appointment.
Rather than treating the swearing-in as a routine constitutional ceremony, the Punjab government has chosen to publicly register its disagreement with the Centre’s handling of the appointment.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini’s presence, meanwhile, provided a visible contrast. With the two states sharing the jurisdiction of the High Court, the differing positions of their chief ministers underlined the political nature of the dispute.
The controversy also comes at a time when relations between the AAP government in Punjab and the BJP-led Union government have been strained over several issues involving the state’s financial, administrative and institutional interests.
For Mann, the Chief Justice appointment has therefore become another issue through which his government is asserting Punjab’s federal rights. For the Centre and its supporters, however, the matter is fundamentally about maintaining the established constitutional mechanism for judicial appointments and protecting the independence of the judiciary from political influence.
The row is unlikely to end with the swearing-in.
With Justice Mishra now formally in office, the Punjab government faces the question of what constitutional or legal course it intends to pursue against an appointment that has already been notified and completed.
The episode has consequently moved beyond a dispute over one judicial appointment. It has become a broader political and constitutional contest between Chandigarh and New Delhi over consultation, federalism and the limits of executive authority in matters concerning the higher judiciary.
For the moment, Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra has assumed the office of Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court — while Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s conspicuous absence from the ceremony has ensured that the political controversy surrounding his appointment remains firmly in the spotlight.
