In a First, Union Law Secy Anoop Mendiratta Appointed as Delhi HC Judge

Anoop Kumar Mendiratta with Law Minister Kiren Rijiju.

(Photo: Twitter/ @KirenRijiju)

Anoop Kumar Mendiratta who was the first serving judge to be appointed Union Law Secretary was appointed as a High Court judge.

This is the first time a Union Law Secretary has been elevated as a judge of the Delhi High Court.

The formal official notification of the latest appointments in the Delhi High Court was tweeted by the Department of Justice in which Mendiratta was among four judicial officers who were elevated as judges.

"Our Law Secretary Shri Anoop Kumar Mendiratta has been appointed as Judge of Delhi High Court. He has been a judicial officer of high integrity and sound knowledge in law. I thank him for his valuable services. I wish him success in his new role as a Judge to deliver Justice,” Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju posted on Twitter.

Mendiratta was serving as the District and Sessions Judge of Karkardooma in northeast district when he was made the Law Secretary in October 2019.

As Union Law Secretary, Mendiratta had hosted the meeting of Ministers of Justice of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

He also served as the Principal Secretary (Law) in the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. During his stint, he clashed with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government over sanction to prosecute a group of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students.

In January 2019, with the case stalled in court without sanction, the file was sent by Delhi’s Home department to the Law department for an opinion. He had returned the file stating the Lieutenant Governor was the competent authority in the matter. This led to disagreements with the Delhi law minister Kailash Gahlot, resulting in his repatriation to his parent judicial cadre.