Justice Pradip Mohanty From Odisha Appointed Acting Chairperson, Lokpal

Bhubaneswar: Justice Pradip Kumar Mohanty has been appointed as Acting Chairperson, Lokpal, by President Ram Nath Kovind.

Justice Mohanty, former Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court, has been serving as Member (Judicial), Lokpal since March 2019. He has been appointed against the vacancy caused due to the completion of the tenure of Justice Pinaki Chandra Bose as Chairperson, Lokpal.

Justice Mohanty will assume charge from May 28, until the appointment of the Chairperson, Lokpal, stated a government notification.

Justice Mohanty had served as Acting Chief Justice of Orissa High Court on several occasions. He was nominated as Executive Chairman, Odisha State Legal Services Authority, from December 2012 to April 2016.

Justice Mohanty, who was born on June 10, 1955, in Cuttack, hails from a renowned family of eminent jurists. His father, late Justice Jugal Kishore Mohanty was a Judge of the Orissa High Court and later became the Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court. His maternal grandfather late Justice Rajkishore Das was also a Judge of the Orissa High Court.

He did his schooling in the Ravenshaw Collegiate School, Cuttack. He graduated from the Ravenshaw College, Cuttack, in 1974 and completed his LLB from MS Law College, Cuttack, in 1978.

Justice Mohanty was sworn in as an Additional Judge of Orissa High Court on March 7, 2002, and as a permanent Judge of the said High Court on March 6, 2004. He was appointed as Chief Justice of the High Court of Jharkhand on March 24, 2017.