Hyderabad: Justice P Sam Koshy has been appointed the acting Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court following the elevation of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh to the Supreme Court.
The Union Law Ministry issued a notification on October 5 stating that the President had appointed Justice Koshy to discharge the duties of Chief Justice. He will assume charge once Justice Singh relinquishes office following his elevation to the apex court.
The appointment has been made under Article 223 of the Constitution, which allows the President to appoint a High Court judge to perform the duties of Chief Justice when the office falls vacant.
Three High Court Chief Justices Elevated to Supreme Court
The Centre also notified the appointment of three High Court Chief Justices as judges of the Supreme Court. The appointments include Justice Sunita Agarwal of the Gujarat High Court, Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya of the Delhi High Court and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh of the Telangana High Court.
The Supreme Court Collegium had recommended their elevation on September 28. Following the appointments, the Supreme Court will have 37 judges against its sanctioned strength of 38.
Justice Agarwal's elevation also increases the number of women judges serving on the Supreme Court to three.
Justice Singh enrolled as an advocate in 1990 after completing his law studies at Delhi University. He practised at the Patna High Court between 1990 and 2000 before moving to the Jharkhand High Court, where he practised from 2001 until his elevation to the Bench. He was sworn in as Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court on July 19, 2025.
Justice Koshy's Second Stint as Acting Chief Justice
Justice Koshy is returning to the leadership position at the Telangana High Court for a second time. He had earlier briefly performed the duties of Chief Justice from July 18 to July 19 last year, before Justice Singh assumed office.
Born on April 30, 1967, Justice Koshy completed a commerce degree in 1987 and obtained his law degree in 1990. He enrolled as an advocate on March 9, 1991.
He practised civil, constitutional, service and labour law at the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Jabalpur until 2000 and later at the Chhattisgarh High Court in Bilaspur until 2013. During his legal career, he also served as government advocate and deputy advocate general in Chhattisgarh.
Justice Koshy was appointed an additional judge of the Chhattisgarh High Court in September 2013 and became a permanent judge in March 2016.
In 2023, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended his transfer to another High Court following his request. After Justice Koshy expressed a preference for a High Court other than the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the Collegium recommended his transfer to Telangana. He took oath as a judge of the Telangana High Court on July 27, 2023.
In March this year, Justice Koshy was nominated chairman of a National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) committee tasked with reviewing the Legal Aid Defense Counsel System, which provides legal representation to accused persons who cannot afford private lawyers.
