Justice SA Dharmadhikari sworn in as Chief Justice of Madras High Court

Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court on Friday. Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi administered the oath of office at a ceremony held at the Raj Bhavan in Chennai.

Justice Dharmadhikari succeeds Justice Manindra Mohan Srivastava, who retired as Chief Justice on March 5.

Prior to his elevation, Justice Dharmadhikari was serving as a judge of the Kerala High Court. His parent High Court is the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

The Central government had approved his appointment earlier this week following a recommendation made by the Supreme Court Collegium at its meeting held on February 26.

Born on July 8, 1966 in Raipur, Justice Dharmadhikari enrolled as an advocate in 1992 and practised before the Madhya Pradesh High Court for more than two decades. His practice spanned civil, criminal and constitutional matters.

During his time at the Bar, he served as Standing Counsel for the Union of India from 2000 to 2015. He also represented several government bodies and public sector institutions, including the Income Tax Department, the Reserve Bank of India and the Central Excise Department as Senior Standing Counsel.

Justice Dharmadhikari was appointed as an additional judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on April 7, 2016 and was confirmed as a permanent judge on March 17, 2018.

He was transferred to the Kerala High Court on April 23, 2025, where he served until his appointment as Chief Justice of the Madras High Court.