The Ministry of Law and Justice announced the appointment of Justice Dinesh Maheshwari as the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, taking over from Justice HG Ramesh who is currently the acting Chief Justice.

Maheshwari will leave his current post of Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court and take over as the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court before February 20.

The post of Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court had not been permanently filled since the retirement of Justice SK Mukherjee on October 9, 2017.

The Supreme Court collegium recommended Justice Maheshwari even though he stands below Justice HG Ramesh in the all-India seniority of High Court judges, since Ramesh had earlier chosen to decline the post of Chief Justice of the High Court.

The appointment of Justice Maheshwari comes at a time lawyers at the Karnataka High Court are embroiled in a week-long hunger strike over the delay in the appointment of judges. BV Acharya, former Advocate General of Karnataka pointed out that out of a total sanctioned strength of 62 judges, there are only 24 appointed judges in the High Court.

Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, born in 1958 graduated from Jodhpur University with a degree in law. He practiced as a lawyer in various places in Rajasthan and was elevated as the judge of the Rajasthan High Court in 2004 and then served at the Allahabad High Court in 2014. Maheshwari’s expertise is mainly on civil and constitutional matters. He took charge of the Meghalaya High Court in 2016.

Meanwhile, Antony Dominic, acting Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court was elevated to the position of Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court. He is set to retire later this year on May 29, 2018 and has been Acting Chief Justice since November 6, 2017.