Hyderabad: President Ramnath Kovind on Thursday passed orders appointing the now Telangana high court chief justice Hima Kohli as a judge to the Supreme Court. Kohli was one of the nine members recommended by the Collegium on August 19.
Hima Kohli, who has been only serving as the chief justice of Telangana high court for about eight months now, is the first woman to hold the office. She had earlier served as a judge in Delhi high court.
Even in a shorter stint in Telangana, Hima Kohli left an indelible mark. Her role during COVID-19, persuading the state government towards imposing lockdown, was praiseworthy. Besides, her handling of cases related to a lawyer couple’s murder and lockup death of Mariyamma was remarkable too.
Born on September 2, 1959 in Delhi, Hima Kohli completed her graduation and post-graduation in law from University of Delhi. 62-year-old Kohli was incidentally set to retire this month, as retirement age for high court judges is 62. With her appointment to the Supreme Court now, she will demit office only in 2025.
The President notified the appointment of the judges after the union government on Wednesday cleared all the names recommended by the Collegium for appointment as judges.
Besides Kohli, Karnataka chief justice AS Oka, Gujarat chief justice Vikram Nath, Sikkim chief justice JK Maheshwari, Justice Nagarathna, Kerala high court judge justice CT Ravikumar, Madras high court judge, Justice MM Sundresh, Gujarat high court judge Justice Bela M Trivedi and senior advocate PS Narasimha are now the new judges of the Supreme Court.