Guwahati: The Supreme Court collegium on Thursday recommended the appointment of Karnataka High Court judge Kempaiah Somashekar as Manipur High Court’s chief justice.
The decision by the three-member collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, comes as Manipur High Court Chief Justice, Justice D Krishnakumar, is scheduled to retire on May 21.
“The Supreme Court Collegium in its meeting held on May 15, 2025 has recommended appointment of Justice Kempaiah Somashekar, Judge, High Court of Karnataka, as the Chief Justice of High Court of Manipur, consequent upon the retirement of Justice D Krishnakumar on May 21, 2025,” a statement from the collegium read.
Justice Somashekar began his legal career after enrolling as an advocate on January 27, 1990, and practiced in the Mysore and Chamarajanagar districts, handling both civil and criminal cases.
On June 17, 1998, he was directly appointed as a District and Sessions Judge. Over the years, he served in several key judicial positions, including as Additional District and Sessions Judge in Bijapur (now Vijayapura) and at the City Civil Court in Bangalore.
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Justice Somashekar also contributed to the administrative functioning of the judiciary as Registrar (Judicial) and Registrar (Vigilance) at the High Court of Karnataka.
He was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Karnataka High Court on November 14, 2016, and became a Permanent Judge on November 3, 2018.
