Chandigarh: Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra was on Monday administered oath of office as Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana high court by Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Katria. Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann stayed away from the oath-taking ceremony though his Haryana counterpart Nayab Singh Saini attended.A day earlier, Punjab cabinet had passed a resolution opposing Chief Justice Mishra’s appointment and demandin that his oath-taking be put on hold until state’s views were heard. Mann had issued a statement on Sunday that appointing the HC Chief Justice “without obtaining state’s consent is a direct violation of procedures and constitutional norms”.Mann’s absence is a departure from convention as chief ministers of both Punjab and Haryana traditionally attend the swearing in ceremony of the Chief Justice of the shared high court. Mann left for Delhi on Snwhere he and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal met cabinet minister Sanjeev Arora, who is lodged in Bhondsi Jail in Gurgaon.After the ceremony, additional solicitor general of India Satya Pal Jain told mediapersons, “Instead of following Raj Dharam, the Punjab CM and his govt are following Rajniti Dharam.”“The resolution passed by Punjab cabinet, and the statements by the Punjab CM and his ministers, are unfortunate and against the Constitution. The Supreme Court collegium recommended eight names for these vacant positions on Aug 6 and forwarded them for consideration. The Centre, as per the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP), sent them to the chief ministers and governors of all states concerned to seek their views on Aug 10... Except for Punjab, all other states — including BJP and non-BJP ruled states — gave their consent,” Jain said, adding that Punjab govt has still not sent its suggestions while Haryana govt and governors of Punjab and Haryana gave theirs.
