Shimla, May 30 : Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao on Tuesday was sworn in as Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court. Before his elevation, he was serving as a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The office of the Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court had been vacant since January after the retirement of Chief Justice Amjad Ahtesham Sayed. Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla administered the oath of office to Justice Rao at a brief swearing in ceremony held at the Raj Bhavan in Shimla. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu and Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur were present. Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena read out the warrant of appointment of the Chief Justice issued by President Droupadi Murmu. The ceremony began and concluded with the national anthem. Lady Governor Janaki Shukla, Speaker Himachal Vidhan Sabha Kuldeep Singh Pathania, Industry Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan, judges of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Telangana High Court were among those present on the occasion. Justice Rao was born on August 7, 1966, in Hyderabad. He did his B.Sc. (Hons.) in Mathematics from Bhavans New Science College, Osmania, and LL.B. from the University College of Law, Osmania University, Hyderabad in 1989. Justice Rao was elevated as Judge of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh in June 2012 and was appointed as the Chief Justice of Telangana on August 31, 2021. He remained a Judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court as well. His father Justice M. Jagannadha Rao was a former judge of the Supreme Court (1997-2000) and former Chairman of the Law Commission of India. His grandfather was also a judge of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh from 1960-1961. /IANS