Justice M S Ramachandra Rao has been sworn in as 28th chief justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday. Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla administered the oath of office to the newly-appointed Chief Justice at Raj Bhawan in the presence of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.

After taking the oath at Raj Bhawan, the chief justice was given a red carpet welcome and guard of honour at the high court. Full-court welcome address in the honour of the new Chief Justice was held in the court for the chief justice.

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Speaking on the occasion, the new chief justice said steps needed to be taken for the disposal of cases that are more than five years old and cases of senior citizens.

Criminal appeals also need to be heard expeditiously, he added.

He said that he would ensure that there was proper infrastructure in the district court buildings to serve the litigant public, lawyers, judicial officers, and court staff.

The chief justice laid stressed the need for IT infrastructure in the high court and district judiciary to facilitate the better administration of courts and also judicial work. The chief justice assured that he will make all efforts for strengthening and streamlining the judicial system and hoped that the state government will provide sufficient funds and full co-operation for this purpose.

Keeping the challenges in mind and realising that the responsibility is immense, he stated that he will work with the companion judges and Members of Bar to deliver justice to the litigants of good quality with speed.

Born on 7 August 1966, in Hyderabad, Justice Rao topped Osmania University in B.Sc. (Hons.) Mathematics course and did his LL.B. from University College of Law, Osmania University, Hyderabad, in 1989 and was awarded CVSS Acharyulu Gold Medal for securing the highest marks. He enrolled as an Advocate on September 7, 1989, and secured LL.M. from the University of Cambridge UK in 1991.

He was also awarded the Pegasus Scholarship by the Scholarship Trust, Inner Temple, London. He practiced law in the area of Civil Law, Arbitration, Company Law, Administrative and Constitutional Law, Labour and Service Law.

His father Justice M Jagannadha Rao was a former Judge of Supreme Court of India and former Chairman of Law Commission of India. His grandfather M S Ramachandra Rao was also a Judge of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh.

Justice M S Ramachandra Rao was elevated as judge of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh in June 2012 and was appointed Chief Justice, of the High Court of Telangana in August 2021. He was later transferred as Judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court and assumed charge of the office in October 2021.