Advocate Nchumbemo Mozhui, Judicial Officer Helen Dawngliani Recommended for Gauhati High Court

The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended advocate Nchumbemo Mozhui and judicial officer Helen Dawngliani for appointment as judges of the Gauhati High Court, according to a resolution issued this week.

The recommendation is notable for pairing one bar elevation with one judicial-service elevation in the same batch, a mix the Collegium regularly uses to balance advocacy experience against trial-court background on a single high court bench. Gauhati High Court has jurisdiction over Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh, giving it one of the widest multi-state jurisdictions among India's high courts, a legacy of its origin as the region's sole high court before some of the newer states set up their own principal benches.

Dawngliani's elevation from the judicial service reflects a path through the district judiciary in the northeastern states the court serves, typically spanning postings as a civil judge and additional district judge before reaching the seniority required for Collegium consideration, while Mozhui's recommendation from the bar brings a practising advocate's background onto the bench, a combination the Collegium has favoured in recent northeastern appointments to ensure regional representation across the court's four-state jurisdiction.

Gauhati High Court has a sanctioned strength of 24 judges, and vacancies there carry particular weight because the court also functions through circuit benches in Kohima, Aizawl and Itanagar in addition to its Guwahati headquarters, meaning shortfalls in judge strength are felt across a wider geographic spread than in single-state high courts where the entire bench sits in one location.

The recommendation now proceeds to the Union Law Ministry for the standard vetting process before formal appointment, a stage that examines both candidates' backgrounds, financial disclosures and any pending complaints before the file moves to the President under Article 217 of the Constitution.

The northeastern states have historically seen slower judicial appointments relative to caseload growth, and this recommendation is part of a broader Collegium effort through 2026 to address vacancy backlogs across smaller high courts, including Gauhati's multi-state bench structure spanning four states with very different case profiles, from Assam's land and revenue litigation to Arunachal Pradesh's more limited but geographically dispersed caseload.

The Collegium's resolution was issued this week and the two names now await Law Ministry clearance ahead of formal notification by the President, with the appointments expected to add to the court's working strength at both its Guwahati principal seat and its circuit benches once notified. Court administrators in the region have said additional judge strength is needed most urgently at the circuit bench level, where even modest vacancies can leave entire categories of appeals waiting months for a hearing date.