The Jharkhand High Court got a new Chief Justice with Justice Mahesh Sharadchandra Sonak being sworn in at a ceremony held at Birsa Mandap, Lok Bhavan.
The oath of office and secrecy was administered by Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar in the presence of Chief Minister Hemant Soren. Following the ceremony, the Governor and the Chief Minister extended their congratulations and best wishes to the new Chief Justice.
Earlier, Chief Secretary Avinash Kumar read out the warrant of appointment of Justice Sonak as Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court. The Governor’s Additional Chief Secretary, Dr Nitin Kulkarni, formally invited Justice Sonak to take the oath.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Union Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth, Ministers Radha Krishna Kishore and Deepika Pandey Singh, Speaker of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly Rabindra Nath Mahato, along with sitting and former judges of the Jharkhand High Court. Senior officials from the Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service, High Court officials, and senior advocates were also present.
Justice Sonak succeeds Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan, and a full court farewell was held to mark Justice Chauhan’s retirement.
Born on November 28, 1964, Justice Sonak completed his schooling in Panaji, Goa. He holds a BSc degree from Dhempe College of Arts and Science and an LLB, obtained in first class, from MS College of Law, Panaji. He has also earned a diploma in Portuguese from the Xavier Centre of Historical Research.
Justice Sonak enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa in October 1988. He practised extensively at the Panaji Bench of the Bombay High Court in civil and constitutional law, labour and service matters, environmental law, commercial and tax cases, company law and public interest litigation. He was appointed an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court on June 21, 2013, and became a permanent judge on March 2, 2016.
Justice Sonak will serve as Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court until November 28, 2026.
