Who is Justice N Kotiswar Singh, first Supreme Court judge from Manipur?

The Central government announced on Tuesday that the Supreme Court has appointed its first judge from the northeastern state of Manipur.

Justice Kotiswar Singh has now become the first judge from Manipur to have been appointed to the Supreme Court.

“His appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court will provide representation to the North-East, and in particular he will be the first judge from the state of Manipur to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court,” the SC Collegium had said on July 11 while recommending his name.

Who is N Kotiswar Singh?

Judge N Kotiswar Singh was born in Imphal, Manipur, on March 1, 1963. He was born to N Gomati Devi and the late Justice N Ibotombi Singh of the Gauhati High Court, who had previously held the position of Manipur’s first Advocate General.

He obtained his law degree from Delhi University in 1986. Singh began his career practicing law in the Supreme Court.

He was sworn in as an extra judge of the Gauhati High Court in 2011 and appointed as a permanent judge in 2012.

Singh had also served as the first advocate general of Manipur.

He was appointed as a judge of the Manipur High Court when it was established in 2013. In 2018, he was transferred to the Gauhati High Court before being promoted to the position of Chief Justice.

In 2019 he was promoted to the position of Acting Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court.

In February 2023, Justice Singh was appointed as chief justice of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.