Chief Justice Jain, who was Acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court before being appointed Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court takes the place of Mr Justice D.K. Jain who has been elevated to the Supreme Court.

Interacting with mediapersons, the new Chief Justice said his priority would be make available to the common man speedy justice at affordable cost. "This has to percolate down to the grass-roots level also," he added.

Earlier, at a brief ceremony, the Chief Secretary, Haryana, Mr Prem Prashant, read out the warrant of appointment of the new Chief Justice issued by the President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, on November 24.

Chief Justice Jain brings with him vast experience, both as Judge and lawyer. He earned acclaim due to his pro-active role while dealing with a wide range of issues concerning the common man during his term as Judge of the Delhi High Court.

He has to his credit many outstanding judgments in his 13-year-old career as High Court Judge. Benches headed by him have heard important cases, including the Jessica Lall murder case in which the court took suo moto cognisance of the decision of the lower court to let off the main accused due to lack of evidence, the demolition of unauthorised structures and removal of encroachments from the banks of the Yamuna, Delhi's stray cattle menace, etc.

He was recently invited by the Supreme Court of Thailand to share his experience to help in setting up of Green Benches in Thailand.

In fact, he is one of the Indian Judges whose judgment on Intellectual Property Rights has been reported in foreign journal, Fleet Street.

Among those present at the brief ceremony were the Governor, Punjab, Gen S.F. Rodrigues (retd), the Chief Minister, Punjab, Capt Amarinder Singh, Judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court as well as the Delhi High Court, ministers of Punjab and Haryana and lawyers.

Mr Justice Vijender Jain as the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court
New Delhi, November 16
The appointment of Mr Justice Vijender Jain as the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court was cleared today by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam after the Supreme Court Collegium recommended his name for the second time following certain queries raised by Dr Kalam.

The President gave approval to the Collegium’s fresh proposal, forwarded to him by the Union Government with positive recommendations, sources said.

A formal notification on his appointment was expected to be issued in a day or two by the Law and Justice Ministry. At present, Mr Justice Jain is the Acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court.

He is expected to take the oath of office soon after the warrant of his appointment is formally issued by the President, sources said.

The post of the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court has been lying vacant since the elevation of Mr Justice D.K. Jain to the Supreme Court earlier this year.

The Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India Y.K. Sabharwal and comprising four senior-most apex court judges, had initially recommended Justice Jain’s name for the post of the Chief Justice in July, but due to certain queries raised by the President, his appointment was delayed. The Collegium had reiterated its recommendation in a recent meeting, satisfying Dr Kalam’s queries.

Born on August 2, 1946, Mr Justice Jain started his career as a lawyer in the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court in July, 1969. Considered an expert in constitutional, civil and taxation laws, he was appointed a judge of the Delhi High Court on December 24, 1992. He is a member of the International Law Association’s Committee on Human Rights and Honorary Secretary of the Association’s India Chapter.

Mr Justice Jain’s recent order to demolish unauthorised constructions in Delhi had yielded good results on clearing encroachments on the public land.

at several places and initiation of a CBI probe against several MC officials for their alleged complicity in allowing illegal constructions.