Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra was formally sworn in as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court (which serves the two north Indian states and the union territory of Chandigarh) on 7 September 2026, with Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria administering the oath at Lok Bhawan in Chandigarh. The appointment had been contentious: the Punjab state cabinet passed a resolution the previous evening urging the federal government to halt the ceremony until its concerns were addressed, and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was conspicuously absent from the proceedings. Justice Mishra, who had been serving as acting chief justice since June, was formally notified for the role on 5 September following a recommendation from the Supreme Court Collegium, making his confirmation significant as a test of the balance between judicial appointments and state government objections in India.