The Central Government has notified the appointment of nine advocates as Additional Judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, following the recommendation of the Supreme Court Collegium. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal announced the appointments through a post on X.

The notification states: “In exercise of the power conferred by the Constitution of India, after consultation with Chief Justice of India, the President is pleased to appoint the following Advocates as Additional Judges in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.”

The nine advocates appointed as Additional Judges are Monica Chhibber Sharma, Harmeet Singh Deol, Pravindra Singh Chauhan, Rajesh Gaur, Puja Chopra, Sunish Bindlish, Minderjeet Yadav, Divya Sharma and Ravinder Malik.

The appointments follow the Supreme Court Collegium's recommendation dated May 4, 2026, under which the Collegium had approved the elevation of ten advocates as judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. However, while the Collegium's recommendation included advocate Navdeep Singh, his name does not figure in the list of nine advocates whose appointments have now been notified by the Central Government.

The latest appointments are also significant because several of the appointees have been serving as law officers representing the State governments. Pravindra Singh Chauhan is presently serving as the Advocate General of Haryana. Rajesh Gaur and Minderjeet Yadav are serving as Additional Advocate Generals for Haryana, while Harmeet Singh Deol is the Additional Advocate General of Punjab. Their elevation marks a transition from their roles as senior government law officers to the Bench of the High Court.

The appointments have been made under the constitutional framework governing the appointment of Additional Judges of High Courts. Article 224 of the Constitution provides for the appointment of Additional Judges where there is a temporary increase in the business of a High Court or there are arrears of work requiring additional judicial strength.

The appointment of the nine advocates is expected to strengthen the Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and contribute towards dealing with its substantial judicial workload and pending cases. The development also comes amid continuing efforts to fill vacancies in High Courts across the country and improve judicial capacity.

With these appointments, the Punjab and Haryana High Court will receive nine new members on its Bench, although the exclusion of Navdeep Singh, despite his inclusion in the Collegium's May 4 recommendation, remains a notable aspect of the Central Government's notification.