Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh, the senior-most judge of the Patna High Court, has been appointed as the Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court. This announcement was made by Union Minister of Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal through an official post on his X (former Twitter) handle. The President of India, Droupadi Murmu, appointed chief justices for six high courts, including Odisha, based on the consultation with Chief Justice of India. The decision to appoint Justice Singh as the Chief Justice of Orissa High Court was recommended by the collegium of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, in November 2023. Justice Singh’s appointment comes as a replacement for the acting Chief Justice Bidyut Ranjan Sarangi of Orissa High Court, who took over on October 4, 2023, following the superannuation of Chief Justice Subhasis Talapatra on October 3, 2023.

The collegium expressed confidence in Justice Singh’s professional ethics and integrity, noting his high standards both at the Bar and Bench. Having served as a judge of the Patna High Court since April 5, 2012, he held the position of the senior-most puisne Judge. Before his elevation to the High Court, he had a distinguished career at the Bar, practicing constitutional, service, criminal, and arbitration matters since his enrollment in 1990. Justice Singh’s legal career also included serving as the Additional Advocate General for Bihar from December 2010 until his elevation as a Judge. Over his 11 years on the Bihar High Court bench, he authored an impressive 1246 reported judgments, with 562 delivered in the last five years alone, according to a Supreme Court communique. The news highlights Justice Singh’s extensive legal experience, ethical standing, and suitability for the role of Chief Justice of the High Court of Orissa.