Justice Meenakshi Madan Rai retires as Chief Justice of Patna High Court

Justice Meenakshi Madan Rai, Sikkim’s first woman to become a High Court judge, retired on Saturday, July 11, 2026, as Chief Justice of the Patna High Court. After serving for a little over a month as the 48th Chief Justice, she demitted office on the same day.

She was sworn in as Chief Justice on June 5, 2026, after the Supreme Court Collegium recommended her appointment on May 22, 2026. While her term at the top of one of India’s oldest High Courts was brief, it marked a major milestone in a career that began in the district courts of Gangtok.

Acting Chief Justice appointed after retirement

Following her retirement, the Central Government notified the appointment of Justice Sudhir Singh as Acting Chief Justice of the Patna High Court. The notification was issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice under Article 223 of the Constitution, stating that the President appointed Justice Singh to perform the duties of the office of Chief Justice after Justice Rai’s retirement on July 11, 2026.

Justice Sudhir Singh was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Patna High Court on April 15, 2015, the same date Justice Meenakshi Madan Rai joined the Sikkim High Court bench. He later became a Permanent Judge on April 20, 2016.

From Gangtok district courts to High Court leadership

Born on July 12, 1964, Justice Rai’s early education included schooling in Gangtok and Kurseong. She completed Class XII from Tashi Namgyal Academy, Gangtok, in 1983. She then pursued Political Science (Honours) at Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University, under a merit scholarship from the Government of Sikkim, and earned her law degree from the Campus Law Centre, Delhi University, in 1989.

She enrolled with the Bar in 1990 and initially practised in the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court before returning to Sikkim. In December 1990, she joined the Sikkim Judicial Service as Judicial Magistrate First Class-cum-Civil Judge (East) at Gangtok. She was the first woman from Sikkim to hold that post. Her rise in the state judiciary included promotions to Chief Judicial Magistrate in 2000 and District and Sessions Judge in August 2004, along with two terms as Registrar General of the Sikkim High Court in 2006 and 2009.

On April 15, 2015, Justice Rai became the first woman from Sikkim to sit on a High Court bench when she was elevated as a judge of the Sikkim High Court. Between 2018 and early 2026, she also served as Acting Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court on multiple occasions.

One of her notable decisions in her final months at the Sikkim High Court was an April 2026 ruling that examined Sikkim’s constitutional protections and the property rights of Sikkimese women married to non-Sikkimese men. After her elevation to the Patna High Court in June 2026, her appointment was widely seen in Sikkim as a proud moment for women’s representation in higher judicial leadership.