Born on July 12, 1964, to Late Madan Mohan Rasaily and Mrs. Rabi Mala Rasaily, Justice Meenakshi Madan Rai's early education began at Tathangchen School, Gangtok, before she joined Dowhill School in Kurseong. She completed her Class X in 1980 and her Class XII from Tashi Namgyal Academy in 1983. She graduated with a Political Science (Honours) degree from Lady Shriram College, Delhi University, in 1986, supported by a Merit Scholarship from the Government of Sikkim. She then pursued her LLB at Campus Law Centre, Delhi University, completing it in 1989.
Enrolled in the Bar Association of Delhi in 1990, she practiced at the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India under an Advocate on Record. On December 11, 1990, she became the first lady from Sikkim to be appointed as Judicial Magistrate 1st Class –cum- Civil Judge (East) District at Gangtok, Sikkim, in the Sikkim Judicial Service cadre.
Justice Rai was promoted to Chief Judicial Magistrate-cum-Civil Judge (East & North) Districts of Sikkim at Gangtok on April 20, 2000, a position she held until August 1, 2004. On August 2, 2004, she was promoted as District & Sessions Judge (Special Division-II) at Gangtok in the Sikkim Superior Judicial Service, and subsequently transferred to Registrar, High Court of Sikkim on November 23, 2004. She was posted as Registrar General, High Court of Sikkim on October 26, 2006.
During her tenure as Registrar and Registrar General, she also held additional charges including District & Sessions Judge (Special Division-I), Judge of the Family Court of Sikkim, Secretary of the High Court Legal Services Committee, Member Secretary of the Sikkim State Legal Services Authority, and Central Project Coordinator (e-Committee).
On October 27, 2008, she was transferred and posted as District & Sessions Judge (East & North) Sikkim at Gangtok until April 14, 2009, also holding additional charge of District & Sessions Judge (Special Division-I) at Gangtok and various assignments under Special Acts. These included Special Judge under the NDPS Act, Prevention of Corruption Act, Single Member MACT, Judge of the Family Court, Special Judge under the Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, President of the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Member Secretary of the Sikkim State Legal Services Authority, and Secretary of the High Court Legal Services Committee.
Justice Rai returned as Registrar General, High Court of Sikkim on April 15, 2009, also holding the additional charge of Member Secretary, Sikkim State Legal Services Authority from January 2005 to January 2010, and Secretary, High Court Legal Services Committee from March 28, 2007, to March 27, 2009.
On June 30, 2010, she was transferred and posted as District and Sessions Judge, South & West Sikkim at Namchi until July 15, 2012, and held similar assignments under Special Acts. On July 16, 2012, she was transferred back to District & Sessions Judge (East & North) Districts of Sikkim at Gangtok, with additional charges as before.
She was designated as Principal District & Sessions (East) District at Gangtok on July 29, 2013. On April 15, 2015, she was elevated as Judge, High Court of Sikkim, the first lady from Sikkim to achieve this, and assumed her charge on the same day.
Currently, she is the Executive Chairperson of the Sikkim State Legal Services Authority since December 11, 2015. She has also served as Acting Chief Justice on multiple occasions.
Hon'ble Shri Justice Bhaskar Raj Pradhan, born to late Bhim Raj Pradhan and Mrs. Bindumati Pradhan, completed his schooling from Tashi Namgal Academy, Gangtok, and St. Pauls School, Darjeeling. He graduated with a B.A (Political Science Hons.) degree from Elphinstone College, Mumbai, and obtained a Bachelor of Law (LLB) Degree from Government Law College, Mumbai, in 1991. He enrolled with the Bar Council of Maharastra in August 1991.
Justice Bhaskar Raj Pradhan worked as an associate in Khaitan & Co. Advocates & Solicitors, New Delhi, from 1991 to 1994 and later at Karanjawala & Co., Advocates & Solicitors, New Delhi, from 1994 to 1998. During this period, he practiced before the Supreme Court of India, Delhi High Court, Rajasthan High Court at Jaipur, and various District Courts, Tribunals, and Commissions.
In 1998, Justice Bhaskar Raj Pradhan resettled in Sikkim and began practicing before the High Court of Sikkim at Gangtok and the District Courts of Sikkim. He has appeared before the Supreme Court of India and various High Courts in Criminal, Civil, and Constitutional matters. He has also conducted numerous trials in both Criminal and Civil matters before the District Courts of Sikkim, Assam, and New Delhi.
Justice Bhaskar Raj Pradhan was designated as Senior Advocate in 2008 by the High Court of Sikkim at the age of 42 years. He is a life member of the Bar Association of India, New Delhi, and the Bar Association of Sikkim, and a member of the Indian Law Institute, New Delhi. He served as the General Secretary of the Bar Association of Sikkim from 2009-2012 and as its President from 2015 until his elevation as a Judge of the High Court of Sikkim.
Justice Bhaskar Raj Pradhan underwent training at the National Legal Service Authority, New Delhi, in July 2015 as a Master Trainer. He was a member of the Committee constituted by the High Court of Sikkim to examine and suggest procedural aspects of laws related to filing petitions and appeals, including amendments to the Sikkim High Court (Practice and Procedure) Rules, 1991. He was also a member of the Monitoring Committee, District Legal Services Authority, East & North Sikkim at Gangtok from 2010 until his elevation. Additionally, he was a member of the High Court of Sikkim Museum Committee, which established the first Judicial Museum in Sikkim.
Justice Bhaskar Raj Pradhan rendered his professional services to the Sikkim Legal Services Authority (SLSA) without remuneration, requesting that the funds be used for the cause of SLSA. He was appointed as Amicus Curiae in various matters by the High Court of Sikkim. He has delivered numerous lectures as a resource person for the SLSA, Sikkim Judicial Academy, Sikkim University, and Sikkim Government Law College.
Justice Bhaskar Raj Pradhan was also Joint Coordinator and contributor to the Criminal Justice India Series, Volume 18, Sikkim, a book on the administration of Criminal Justice in Sikkim, published by Allied Publishers Private Limited in collaboration with National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata, funded by the Ford Foundation and guided by the School of Criminal Justice Administration.
Hon'ble Mr. Justice Bhaskar Raj Pradhan took oath on May 23, 2017, as a Judge of the High Court of Sikkim at Gangtok.
Justice Sanjay Yadav, born on June 26, 1959, holds an M.A. in Economics and an LL.B. He enrolled as an Advocate on August 25, 1986, and practiced on Civil, Revenue, and Constitutional sides in the High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Jabalpur. He was appointed as Deputy Advocate General of Madhya Pradesh and later as a Judge of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh on March 2, 2007, becoming a Permanent Judge on January 15, 2010. He served as Acting Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court from October 6, 2019, to November 2, 2019, and again from September 30, 2020.
Born on September 30, 1958, in Chandigarh, Justice Ajay Kumar Mittal passed B.Com. (Hons.) from Sri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi University in 1977 and completed his LL.B. from Faculty of Law, Delhi University in 1980. In the same year, he was enrolled as an Advocate with the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana and started practice in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana in July 1980.
Justice Mittal practiced in Civil Law, Revenue Law, and Writ Side in all branches of law, including Constitutional Law, Service Law, Company Law, and Tax Laws. He worked for the Department of Income Tax in the Punjab and Haryana High Court from 1982 to 1991. He was elevated to the Bench of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana on January 9, 2004. He functioned as Acting Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana between May 4, 2018, and June 2, 2018, and also as Executive Chairman of the Haryana State Legal Services Authority for over three years. He was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Meghalaya on May 28, 2019, and later appointed as Chief Justice of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh on November 3, 2019.
Born on July 30, 1957, Justice Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar enrolled as an Advocate on February 10, 1982. He practiced on Civil, Criminal, and Constitutional sides before the Subordinate Courts, Tribunals, and High Court of Judicature at Bombay on the Appellate and Original sides. From July 1984, he practiced exclusively in the Supreme Court of India. Justice Khanwilkar was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court on March 29, 2000, and confirmed as a permanent Judge on April 8, 2002. He was appointed as Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh on April 4, 2013, and as Chief Justice of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh on November 24, 2013.
