SHIMLA: Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, issued a notification today appointing the senior-most judge of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan, as the Acting Chief Justice of the High Court.
This comes following the retirement of Chief Justice Rajiv Shekdhar on October 18th.
Notably, this marks the second time Justice Chauhan has been appointed to serve in this role. The official notification was issued earlier today, confirming his appointment performing the duties of the office of the Chief Justice from October 19 onwards.
About Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan
Born on January 9, 1964, in Rohru, Himachal Pradesh, Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan completed his schooling at Bishop Cotton School, Shimla, where he served as School Captain. He graduated with honors from DAV College, Chandigarh, and obtained his law degree from Panjab University.
Enrolled as an advocate in 1989, Justice Chauhan practiced at the Himachal Pradesh High Court, handling cases across various branches of law. He served as Standing Counsel for the HP State Electricity Board and Civil Supplies Corporation, representing several government departments, corporations, and institutions. Throughout his career, he was actively involved in legal aid programs and Lok Adalats.
Justice Chauhan was elevated to Additional Judge of the Himachal Pradesh High Court on February 23, 2014, and took oath as a permanent judge on November 30, 2014.
He has delivered over 69,800 judgments, many of them landmark decisions, including those related to environmental laws, education reforms, and transparency in governance. Notably, he mandated the online registration of FIRs and issued guidelines for regularizing daily wage workers.
He has been deeply engaged in child welfare as Chairperson of the Juvenile Justice Committee and led efforts in the digitization of courts as head of the Computer and e-Courts Committee.
Justice Chauhan also held the position of Executive Chairman of the HP State Legal Services Authority and has participated in numerous national and international judicial conferences.