GUWAHATI: History was created on Tuesday when Justice N Kotiswar Singh, the Chief Justice of the High Court for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, was appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court.
He is the first from Manipur to be appointed as a Judge of the apex court. His father N Ibotombi Singh was a former Judge of the Gauhati High Court and the first Advocate General of Manipur.
Born on March 1, 1963, Singh did his schooling from the Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith, Purulia and graduated from Kirori Mal College in 1983. He passed LL.B. from the Delhi University in 1986.
Singh was appointed as a Judge of the Gauhati High Court on October 17, 2011. After the formation of the High Court of Manipur in 2013, he was transferred to that court as a Judge.
He served as the Acting Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court and Manipur High Court three and two times respectively.
He was appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in February 2023.
The Supreme Court Collegium said Singh’s appointment as a Judge of the top court would provide representation to the Northeast.
“Mr Justice N Kotiswar Singh has an impeccable record, both in judicial capacity and in terms of the work which has been rendered by him on the administrative side, as the Chief Justice of the High Court for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh."
“Considering the candidature of Mr Justice N Kotiswar Singh in terms of his judicial performance, administrative acumen, integrity and merit, the Collegium is of the view that he is eminently suitable for being appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court," the Collegium had stated in its recommendation recently.