The Central Government had issued the notification appointing Justice Aradhe as the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court on January 13. He succeeds Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, who stepped down on January 17 after serving as the Chief Justice for a year and a half. Justice Upadhyaya has now taken charge as the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court.
Bombay: Justice Alok Aradhe on Tuesday took oath as the 48th Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. The oath ceremony was held at the Raj Bhavan, where Governor CP Radhakrishnan administered the oath to him.
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Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, Skill Development Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha, judges of the Bombay High Court, and senior government officials attended the event.
According to a statement from the Raj Bhavan, “The governor, the deputy CMs, and state chief secretary Sujata Saunik congratulated the chief justice on his appointment.”
The Central Government had issued the notification appointing Justice Aradhe as the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court on January 13. He succeeds Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, who stepped down on January 17 after serving as the Chief Justice for a year and a half. Justice Upadhyaya has now taken charge as the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court.
Justice Alok Aradhe has had a distinguished judicial career. He was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court on July 23, 2023. His journey as a judge began when he was appointed as an additional judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in December 2009. Later, he was transferred to the Jammu and Kashmir High Court in September 2016, where he served until November 2018. During his tenure there, he also briefly served as the Acting Chief Justice.
From November 2018 to July 2023, Justice Aradhe served as a judge of the Karnataka High Court. He held the position of Acting Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court from July 3, 2022, to October 14, 2022. His tenure as a High Court judge will continue until April 2026.
Born on April 13, 1964, in Raipur, Justice Aradhe completed his Bachelor of Science (BSc) and Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degrees. He enrolled as an advocate in July 1988 and specialized in civil, constitutional, arbitration, and company law at the Madhya Pradesh High Court. He was designated as a Senior Advocate in April 2007. Justice Aradhe became a permanent judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on February 15, 2011.
During his career, Justice Aradhe has presided over some major cases, which are:
- Nizam-era Property Dispute: Earlier this month, a bench led by Justice Aradhe concluded a 66-year-old dispute related to properties from the Nizam era. The court held that “the suit was based on non-existent plots, and there was no land available to decide on or distribute the same among alleged legal heirs of Nizam’s officials.”
- MLA Disqualification Pleas: In November 2024, a two-judge bench led by Chief Justice Aradhe set aside the orders of a single-judge bench that had directed the Telangana Assembly Speaker to decide disqualification pleas against three MLAs within a month. The Chief Justice ruled, “The Assembly Speaker was not bound by any time frame to decide disqualification proceedings and can adjudicate the same in reasonable time.”
- Land Allotment for Telugu Film Industry: In May last year, Justice Aradhe dismissed a plea by former state minister T Harish Rao, challenging government orders from 2001 and 2008 that had allotted land to the Telugu film industry without tenders. The court held, “Such an allotment was not arbitrary.”
- Telangana Government Property Act: In March 2024, Justice Aradhe upheld the validity of the Telangana Government Property (Preservation, Protection, and Resumption) Act, 2007. This law allowed the Telangana government to reclaim 800 acres of land sold to IMG Academics.
- Governor’s Quota for MLCs: In the same month, Justice Aradhe’s bench quashed the nominations of M Kodandaram and Amer Ali Khan as Members of the Legislative Council under the Governor’s quota, marking a setback for the Congress government in Telangana.
Justice Aradhe’s tenure at the Telangana High Court was marked by several initiatives. In March 2024, the foundation stone for the new High Court building at Rajendra Nagar was laid. Under his leadership, the Telangana High Court started live-streaming its proceedings from August 2023, ensuring “transparency and public accessibility.” The courts also adopted hybrid mode operations during his tenure.
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At his farewell event at the Telangana High Court on Monday, Justice Aradhe expressed his pride in heading “one of the youngest high courts in the country with the maximum number of women judges.” The Bombay High Court currently functions with 67 judges, including 52 permanent and 15 additional judges. Among them, 11 are women judges. The court, which has a sanctioned strength of 94 judges, is the second-largest High Court in India after the Allahabad High Court.
