New Delhi: Justice Soumen Sen will assume office as the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court, with the Union government issuing a notification approving the Supreme Court collegium’s recommendation. Justice Sen, who is currently serving as the Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court, will take charge on January 9.
The Supreme Court collegium had recommended Justice Sen’s appointment on December 18. He will succeed the present Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court, Justice Nitin Jamdar, who is set to retire on January 9.
Justice Soumen Sen took charge as the Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court in October 2025. He was elevated as a judge of the Calcutta High Court in 2011. Prior to his elevation to the Bench, he served as a Central Government counsel for nearly two decades, representing key financial institutions such as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).
Justice Sen came into national focus when a Division Bench headed by him stayed a controversial verdict delivered by former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who later joined the BJP. The legal standoff between Justice Sen’s Division Bench and Justice Gangopadhyay eventually led to the Supreme Court Constitution Bench intervening in the matter.
If not elevated to the Supreme Court, Justice Soumen Sen is scheduled to retire on July 26, 2027.
