New Delhi: The Supreme Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, has recommended the appointment of Justice Arun Palli of the Punjab and Haryana High Court as the Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.

According to a statement uploaded on the Supreme Court’s website on Saturday, the recommendation was made during a Collegium meeting held on 4 April 2025.

Justice Palli is set to replace the incumbent Chief Justice Tashi Rabstan, who is due to retire on 9 April upon attaining the age of 62.

Justice Arun Palli, the senior-most judge at the Punjab and Haryana High Court, was elevated to the Bench in December 2013. He began his legal career after earning his law degree from Panjab University, Chandigarh, and practised across various branches of law, including civil, criminal, constitutional, revenue, industrial, and labour law, at the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He has also appeared before the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court, and the Himachal Pradesh High Court in significant matters.

Earlier, he served as the Additional Advocate General for Punjab between 2004 and 2007 and was designated a Senior Advocate in 2007.

Justice Palli currently serves as the Executive Chairman of the Haryana State Legal Services Authority and has been a member of the Governing Body of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) since October 2023.

Coming from a family of lawyers, Justice Palli’s father served as a judge of the Himachal Pradesh High Court until his retirement in 1998. His grandfather Lajpat Rai Palli and great-grandfather Lachchman Dass Palli were reputed advocates of the Patiala District Bar.

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Kolkata, Apr 12 (PTI): The Waqf (Amendment) Act will not be implemented in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Saturday amid violent protests in the state.

Banerjee said the law was made by the Centre and answers should be sought from it.

"My sincere appeal to people of all religions, please remain calm, remain restrained. Do not engage in any irreligious behaviour in the name of religion. Every human life is precious; do not incite riots for the sake of politics. Those who are inciting riots are harming society," she said in a post on X.

Several vehicles, including police vans, were set on fire, stones were hurled at security forces, and roads were blocked as violence rocked Malda, Murshidabad, South 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts during protests over the new legislation on Friday.

"Remember, we did not make the law over which many are agitated. The law was made by the central government. So the answer you want should be sought from the central government," the CM said.

"We have made our position clear on this matter -- we do not support this law. This law will not be implemented in our state. So what is the riot about," she asked.

Banerjee said legal action will be taken against those inciting riots.

"We do not condone any violent activity. Some political parties are trying to misuse religion for political gain. Do not give in to their persuasion," she said.

"I think religion means humanity, goodwill, civilisation and harmony. I appeal to everyone to maintain peace and harmony," she added.