Justice Rajnesh Oswal, First Judge of J&K HC to Take Oath in the Name of Indian Constitution

Rajnesh Oswal took oath as a judge of the Jammu & Kashmir High Court on April 2. He became the first one to do so under the Indian Constitution. High Court Chief Justice Gita Mittal administered the oath to Oswal in the central hall of the court complex in Jammu.

All previous judges of the J&K High court had taken oath under the Constitution of Jammu & Kashmir, which ceased to have effect since August 5, 2019. Following the amendment of Article 370 and reorganisation of the State into two Union Territories, judges have to take oath under the Indian Constitution. Previously, the oath taking process in J&K was under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of J&K.

On account of guidelines for containment of Corona virus pandemic to maintain social distancing other Judges of the High Court of J&K joined the oath ceremony through video link. The oath-taking ceremony was broadcast online. It is pertinent to mention that this is for the first time in the history of Indian Judiciary, that other Judges of the High Court attended the oath ceremony through video conferencing.

High Court Registrar General Sanjay Dhar read out the Warrant of Appointment issued by the President of India. He also read out the Letter of Authorisation issued by the Lieutenant Governor of J&K. The ceremony was attended by some Justices, J&K police chief Dilbag Singh, Advocate General and others.

The Central Government had cleared the appointment of advocate Rajnesh Oswal as a judge of the common High Court for the UT of J&K and UT of Ladakh on January 29.

With the appointment of Justice Rajnesh Oswal as Judge of the High Court, the strength of J&K High Court increased from eight to nine. The J&K High Court has sanctioned strength of 17 Judges including 13 Permanent Judges and 4 Additional Judges.

Justice Rajnesh Oswal had also served as Standing Counsel for Crime Branch Jammu and panel Lawyer for J&K High Court. Earlier, he did his graduation from GGM Science College and LLB from Jammu University and had also received Gold Medal in LLB academics.

Source: Organiser.org

Image Courtesy: LiveLaw