SC Collegium recommends Justice Arun Palli as Chief Justice of J&K and Ladakh High Court
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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11-year-old dies by suicide after sexual assault in Bareilly; accused arrested
Bareilly (UP) (PTI): A 26-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl, who later died by suicide due to trauma, police said on Wednesday.
The post-mortem report confirmed sexual assault and multiple injuries on the minor's body, including bite marks and nail scratches. The cause of death was found to be hanging, they said.
According to ASP (South) Anshika Verma, the incident came to light on 27 April, when the girl, a Class 8 student, was found hanging at her home in Deoria Abdullaganj village under the Mirganj police station area. Initially, the family reported the death as suicide and was reluctant to pursue police action.
"The autopsy report changed the course of the investigation. It confirmed sexual assault and noted severe physical trauma. The cause of death was confirmed as hanging," Verma said.
A breakthrough in the case came from the statement of the victim's younger sister, who told police that the accused, Zeeshan (26), a resident of the same village, frequently loitered near the minor's school and allegedly gave her small sums of money to keep his interactions with her a secret, she said.
Police said that on the day of the incident, the accused allegedly lured the minor and assaulted her. Distressed by the incident, the child later took her own life while her mother was away, police said.
"Based on technical surveillance, CCTV footage, and statements from the family, we established Zeeshan's involvement. He was arrested near the Mirganj weekly market on Tuesday," they said.
