Former Supreme Court judge Justice S Abdul Nazeer on Friday, February 24 took oath as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh. Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra administered the oath of office to Justice Nazeer at a ceremony held at the Raj Bhavan in Vijayawada. President of India Droupadi Murmu had on February 12 appointed Justice Nazeer as the Governor.

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, leader of opposition N Chandrababu Naidu, ministers, judges, and top officials attended the ceremony. After the swearing-in, the leaders and officials greeted the new Governor.

Justice Nazeer, who hails from Karnataka, had served as the Karnataka High Court judge and was elevated as Supreme Court judge in 2017. Justice Nazeer was also on the full bench that delivered the verdict on the triple talaq controversy. He was one of the two judges who opposed the majority verdict banning triple talaq. He was on the Constitution bench of the Supreme Court that delivered the verdict in the Ayodhya case.

He succeeded Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, who was moved to the Chhattisgarh Raj Bhavan. Harichandan, a senior BJP leader from Odisha, had assumed office as Governor in July 2019.

On Wednesday, CM Jagan Mohan Reddy had given a warm send-off to outgoing Governor Harichandan and his wife at Gannavaram airport. The outgoing Governor and his wife later flew to Raipur. On February 12, the Union government appointed Harichandan as the Governor of Chhattisgarh.