The Punjab cabinet on Sunday passed a resolution against the Central government decision to notify the appointment of Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The Supreme Court Collegium had recommended the Justice Mishra’s elevation on August 6. The Central government cleared the recommendation on Saturday night and notified Justice Mishra’s appointment as Chief Justice.

However, the State government has alleged that the decision was taken without its consent. Justice Mishra is set to be administered the oath of office at Punjab Lok Bhavan in Chandigarh on Monday.

Hours before the ceremony, the Punjab cabinet convened an emergency meeting via video conference to protest the Centre’s decision to appoint Justice Mishra as Chief Justice.

In a resolution passed following the meeting, the government urged the Governor not to administer the oath to Justice Mishra until the government gives its consent for the same.

"Taking serious exception to the appointment of Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court without awaiting the views of the Punjab Government, the Cabinet resolved that the appointment and administration of oath should be put on hold until Punjab’s views are obtained and duly considered," the government said in a statement.

The government said that under the ‘Memorandum of Procedure for Appointment and Transfer of Chief Justices and Judges of High Court’, the Union Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs is required to obtain the views of the concerned State government after receipt of a recommendation from the Chief Justice of India.

"After receipt of the views of the State Government, the Union Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs, will submit proposals to the Prime Minister, who will then advise the President as to the selection," it added.

However, the State government said that though its views were sought by Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State for Law & Justice, on August 12, the Union government hurriedly notified the appointment of the Chief Justice without awaiting its response.

No clear time limit is prescribed for the State and the Governor to send their recommendation in the case of appointment of the Chief Justice, the statement adds.

In contrast, it highlighted the case of Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia, who had been recommended to be appointed as the Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2024.

Punjab government said that this proposal was not notified by the Ministry of Law and Justice for more than two months on not receiving the recommendation from the Madhya Pradesh State Government.

Later, Justice Sandhawalia was appointed to Himachal Pradesh High Court.

The Punjab government said this demonstrated that the Centre was discriminating against Punjab.

"As such, the feeling of perceived discrimination gets solidified in the sense that when a case of a Judge of the State of Punjab is to be considered, it is dealt differently as that in a case of another Judge from another High Court getting appointed in the State of Punjab,” it stated.

The Punjab government thus said that it was imperative that Justice Mishra's appointment and administration of oath be put on hold until the views of the State of Punjab are obtained and duly considered by the competent authority.

"Thereafter, the matter may be proceeded with in accordance with the procedure prescribed under the said Memorandum," the government statement said.

Following the meeting, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann in a post on X said that the Central government was continuously attacking the rights of Punjab.

“Today, the Punjab Cabinet unanimously passed an important resolution against the continued assault on Punjab’s rights by the Central Government and the violation of constitutional norms. Appointing the new Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court without obtaining the consent of the State Government is a direct violation of the prescribed procedures (Memorandum of Procedure) and constitutional norms," Mann said.

Meanwhile, the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association has come condemned the government opposition.

“The reported convening of an emergency meeting of the Punjab Cabinet specifically to deliberate upon the appointment of the Chief Justice raises serious concerns regarding Executive overreach into a matter governed by the constitutional mechanism for judicial appointments. Any action that creates an impression of political or Executive pressure upon the judiciary has the potential to erode public confidence in the administration of justice,” the bar body said.

Justice Mishra, who obtained his LL.B. from Delhi University's Campus Law Centre, was appointed as an additional judge of the Allahabad High Court on February 3, 2014, and was made a permanent judge on February 1, 2016.

He served at the Allahabad High Court up to July 20, 2025 before being transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court, where he joined on July 21, 2025.

He was appointed acting Chief Justice on June 1 following the elevation of then Chief Justice Sheel Nagu to the Supreme Court.

In August, a Bench led by Justice Mishra directed the Punjab government to release up-to-date pending installments of dearness allowance/ dearness relief (DA/DR) to all its employees and pensioners.

It observed that the Punjab government was spending huge amounts of money on freebies and advertisements but withholding legitimate dues of its own employees citing financial constraints.

It went on to direct that Punjab shall not resort to any unproductive expenditures such as large-scale advertising campaigns in print or social media till these dues are cleared.