Mendiratta scores another first with appointment as Delhi HC judge

In a first, a Union law secretary has been appointed as a judge of a high court.

According to the department of justice in the law ministry, Union law secretary Anoop Kumar Mendiratta has been elevated as a judge of the Delhi high court.

Mendiratta was appointed as judge based on his seniority as a judicial officer, sources in the government said.

His name was recently recommended by the Supreme Court collegium.

Mendiratta was a judicial officer in Delhi when he was made the law secretary in October 2019.

Even that was a first when a serving district and sessions judge was made the Union law secretary.

He was appointed as law secretary on a contractual basis till March 30, 2023, till his attaining the age of 60 years, the order had said.

Besides Mendiratta, three other judicial officers -- Neena Bansal Krishna, Dinesh Kumar Sharma and Sudhir Kumar Jain -- have also been elevated as judges of the Delhi high court.

The department of justice tweeted about the fresh appointments on Friday.