Bihar Governor Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain on Friday administered the oath of office to Meenakshi Madan Rai, a Nepali-speaking woman from Sikkim, as the 48th Chief Justice of the Patna High Court.
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For the first time in the history of the Indian judiciary, a Nepali-speaking woman has become the Chief Justice of a High Court. Bihar Governor Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain on Friday administered the oath of office to Meenakshi Madan Rai, a Nepali-speaking woman from Sikkim, as the 48th Chief Justice of the Patna High Court. She is the first Nepali-speaking person to attain the high position of Chief Justice. Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang (PS Gole) congratulated her on social media and said that her appointment is a moment of pride not only for Sikkim but also for the entire Nepali-speaking community. She was formally appointed by the President's Office on 2 June 2026. She is also the first woman to become a judge in the Sikkim High Court. She became a judge of the Sikkim High Court on 15 April 2015. She has the experience of holding the position of Acting Chief Justice in the Sikkim High Court five times.
Born on 12 July 1964 in Gangtok, Rai is the daughter of former Sikkim Home Secretary Madan Mohan Rasaili and teacher Ravimala Moktan.
She started her early education at Tathangchen School in Gangtok and later studied at Kharsang Downhill School in Darjeeling. After completing her class 12 from Tashi Namgyal Academy, Gangtok in 1983, she studied Political Science at Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi. She then completed her LLB from Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi.
In 1990, she was enrolled as an advocate with the Delhi Bar Association and started practicing in the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court.
Later, she joined the Sikkim Judicial Service and was appointed as a Judicial Magistrate (First Class). She then became the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Judge and created history by becoming the first female judge of the Sikkim High Court.
Earlier, only two Nepali-speaking judges had become judges in the Indian judiciary. Ramkrishna Sharma from Kalimpong had become a judge of the Kolkata High Court. Anand P Subba from Sikkim had become a judge of the Sikkim and Guwahati High Courts. ‘Meenakshi Madan Rai is the first Nepali-speaking judge to become a High Court judge,’ said Darjeeling-based writer Gyanendra Aryal, ‘before this, no Chief Justice had been a Nepali-speaking judge.’
