Justice M.S. Ratna Sri Ramachandra Rao was sworn in as the ninth Chief Justice of the High Court of Tripura on Tuesday.

His appointment follows the recommendation made by the Supreme Court Collegium in May and the subsequent approval by the Union government on July 14.

Governor Indra Sena Reddy Nallu administered the oath to Justice Rao at a simple ceremony in the Durbar Hall of Raj Bhavan in Agartala on Tuesday morning.

Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha, his cabinet colleagues, important dignitaries, and senior civil and security officials were present in the ceremony.

Former Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court, Justice Rao, replaced Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, who has been transferred to Telangana High Court.

The HC of Tripura was set up in March 2013 along with the full-fledged High Courts in Meghalaya and Manipur. All the Northeastern states, excluding Sikkim, were earlier under the Gauhati High Court.

Born on August 7, 1966, at Hyderabad, Justice Rao studied B.Sc.(Hons.) (Mathematics) from Bhavans New Science College, Osmania University and stood first in the varsity.

He passed LL.B. from the same University in 1989 and was awarded CVSS Acharyulu Gold Medal by Osmania University for securing the highest marks in the final year.

He enrolled as an advocate on September 7, 1989 and secured LL.M. from the University of Cambridge, UK, in 1991. His father, Justice M. Jagannadha Rao, was a former Judge of the Supreme Court of India (1997-2000) and former Chairman of Law Commission of India.

Justice Rao’s grandfather was also a Judge of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh from 1960-1961. Justice Rao was elevated as Additional Judge of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh on June 29, 2012 and appointed as Judge of the High Court and assumed charge on December 4, 2013.

For a brief period, he was acting Chief Justice of Telangana High Court and was Judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court till May 29, 2023.

Justice Rao was administered the oath of office of the Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court on May 30, 2023, on his elevation from High Court of Punjab and Haryana.

He was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court on September 21, 2024 and took oath on September 25, 2024.