Chandigarh/Jalandhar, Sept. 7 -- A day after the Centre notified the elevation of Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra as the chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana high court, the Punjab government on Sunday took strong exception to the decision, stating that the appointment and administration of oath to Justice Mishra should be put on hold until the state government's views are obtained and duly considered. In an emergency meeting via video-conferencing, the Punjab cabinet condemned the central government for bypassing the established procedure and ignoring the state's constitutional rights in the matter. It stated that the appointment was made without obtaining the consent of the state government thereby bypassing all Constitutional norms and set procedures. "The 'Memorandum of Procedure for appointment and transfer of chief justices and judges of high court', in its Para 6, clearly indicates that after receipt of the recommendation of the Chief Justice of India, the Union minister of law, justice and company affairs would obtain the views of the state government concerned. After receipt of the views of the state government, the Union minister will submit proposals to the Prime Minister, who will then advise the President as to the selection," the cabinet pointed out. After chairing the meeting, Mann, in a post on X, stated: "Today, the Punjab cabinet unanimously passed an important resolution against the continued assault on state's rights by the central government and the violation of constitutional norms. Appointing the new chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana high court without obtaining the consent of the state government is a direct violation of the prescribed procedures (Memorandum of Procedure) and constitutional norms." He said the Centre withholding Punjab's Rs 9,000 crore rural development funds and flood relief package, changing the BBMB rules, and now directly interfering in judicial appointments would not be tolerated. "We demand that this appointment be immediately put on hold and that, in accordance with the constitutional process, the views of the state be accorded due respect," he added. Mann also wrote to President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Punjab governor Gulab Chand Kataria seeking their urgent intervention in the matter. In separate letters to them, he said the state cabinet had passed a 'resolution' (enclosed) recommending to the Government of India not to move forward with the proposed appointment and administration of oath to Justice Mishra till the state government's concerns were adequately addressed. Justice Mishra is scheduled to be administered oath by the governor here on Monday. The central government notified the appointment of Justice Mishra, the acting chief justice of Punjab and Haryana high court, as the full-time chief justice on Saturday, almost a month after the Supreme Court Collegium's recommendation. The collegium - headed by CJI Surya Kant and comprising Justices Vikram Nath and BV Nagarathna - had recommended Justice Mishra's elevation on August 6, along with full-time appointments for the Bombay, Calcutta, and Patna high courts. Justice Mishra has been functioning as the acting chief justice of the HC since June 2, following the elevation of his predecessor, Justice Sheel Nagu, to the SC. Reacting to the notification, the Punjab cabinet further stated that in complete disregard to the memorandum of procedures and established Constitutional norms, the Union government hurriedly notified the appointment without awaiting response of the state government. It said no clear time limit was prescribed for the state and the governor to send its recommendation in the case of appointment of the chief justice. "In 2024, when a judge of Punjab and Haryana HC, Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia, was recommended by the collegium for his appointment as chief justice of Madhya Pradesh HC, the same proposal was not notified by the ministry of law and justice for more than two months and understandably on not receiving the recommendation from the Madhya Pradesh government. Later on, the collegium and the law ministry changed his appointment to the Himachal Pradesh HC. As such, the feeling of perceived discrimination gets solidified in the sense that when a case of a judge of the state of Punjab is to be considered, it is dealt differently as that in a case of another judge from another high court getting appointed in the Punjab," it claimed. Earlier in the day, cabinet minister Harpal Singh Cheema, while addressing a press conference in Jalandhar, accused the BJP-led Centre of muzzling the state's federal and constitutional rights. Cheema alleged that the Centre did not provide adequate time to place our views on the recommendations of the collegium. He said the chief minister had received formal communications from Punjab governor Gulab Chand Kataria on August 12 and Union minister for law and justice Arjun Ram Meghwal seeking his opinion on the collegium's recommendation. "However, surprisingly, the central government issued the notification related to Justice Mishra's appointment without waiting for CM Mann's response," Cheema said, calling it an "insult not only to the chief minister but also to the people of Punjab."...