Justice Shakdher Sworn in as Chief Justice of Himachal HC

Shimla: Justice Rajiv Shakdher was sworn in as the chief justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court on Wednesday.

He was administered the oath of office by Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla.

The notification for his appointment was issued on September 21.

Justice Shakdher will have a short tenure as Himachal High Court chief justice as his retirement is due on October 18.

Born on October 19, 1962, Justice Shakdher was appointed as an additional judge of the Delhi High Court on April 11, 2008 and became permanent judge on October 17, 2011.

During his tenure, he delivered several landmark judgements on a variety of issues, including the criminalisation of marital rape.

Justice Shakdher, in May 2022, ruled in favour of criminalising marital rape, even as the second judge on the bench, Justice C Hari Shankar, held to the contrary and refused to strike down the exception.

In his judgement, Justice Shakdher said the immunity to the husband is “steeped in patriarchy and misogyny” and non-consensual sex in a marriage is an antithesis of what matrimony stands for in modern times i.e. the relationship of equals.

Justice Shakdher completed his schooling from St.Columba's School, Delhi. He did B.Com. (Hons.) from Delhi University in 1984, obtained LL.B. degree from Law Faculty, University of Delhi in 1987 and enrolled as an advocate on November 19, 1987.

He completed Chartered Accountancy from Institute of Chartered Accountants of India in 1987. He also pursued an Advanced Course of Law at Institute of Advanced Legal Studies from University of London in 1994.