Three months before the commission was due to submit its report, Justice Ajay Lamba, former Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court and head of the judicial commission probing the May 2023 Manipur violence, resigned Thursday.
In a notification, the Centre announced the appointment of former Supreme Court judge Justice Balbir Singh Chauhan as the new chairman. The commission’s other members, retired IAS officer Himanshu Sekhar Das and retired IPS officer Aloka Prabhakar, will continue.
In a gazette notification, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said, “In continuation of the notification, dated June 4, 2023, which has subsequently been amended through notification(s) – 13th September, 2024; 3rd December, 2024; 20th May, 2025 and 16th December, 2025, and consequent upon the acceptance of resignation of Honourable Justice Ajai Lamba, former Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court from the post of the Chairperson of Commission of Inquiry appointed for the purpose of making an inquiry into a definite matter of public importance, namely, incidents of violence in Manipur, w.e.f. February 28, the Central Government hereby appoints Honourable Justice Balbir Singh Chauhan, former Justice in Supreme Court of India, w.e.f. March 1 as Chairperson of the said Commission in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section 3 of section (3) of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952 (60 of 1952).”
