Madras High Court retains highest number of women judges; husband-wife, PhD aspirant among 10 judges sworn in today

The Madras High Court retained its position as the High Court with the highest number of women judges, with four among the ten additional judges sworn in on Thursday being women. ."As far as the Madras High Court is concerned, it is a matter of pride for all of us that this High Court has thirteen lady judges, the highest among all High Courts in the country," remarked Advocate General Vijay Narayan in his welcome address during the swearing-in ceremony. .The newly appointed judges sworn in by Chief Justice AP Sahi this morning are Justices Govindarajulu Chandrasekharan, AA Nakkiran, Veerasamy Sivagnanam, Ganesan Ilangovan, Ananthi Subramanian, Kannammal Shanmuga Sundaram, Sathi Kumar Sukumara Kurup, Murali Shankar Kuppuraju. Manjula Ramaraju Nalliah and Thamilselvi T Valayapalayam..Advocate General Narayan remarked, "With these appointments, the working strength of our High Court has increased to 64 as opposed to the sanctioned strength 75. On behalf of the bar, I would like to express the hope that the remaining 11 vacancies are also filled so that one day, at least in my lifetime, we can see the full strength of 75 judges on the dais.".The day also marked another milestone for the Court with a husband and wife taking oath as High Court judges. The Advocate General appraised the audience of this historical moment while introducing Justice Murali Shankar Kuppuraju stating:."Your Lordship is married to Thiru TV Thamilselvi, now Justice Thamilselvi who was just sworn in as a Judge of the Madras High Court along with your Lordship, thus making judicial history for this Court since it is the first time that a husband and wife couple have been sworn in judges on the same day.".The only other precedent is that of Justice Vivek Puri and Justice Archana Puri, who were sworn in as judges of the Punjab High Court on the same day in 2019, AG Narayan added..Justice Govindarajulu Chandrasekharan obtained his law degree from the Government Law College, Madurai. Following his enrolment in 1987, he practiced at Madurai and Chennai. In 1991, he was appointed a civil judge, junior division. He was serving as the director of the Tamil Nadu State Judicial Academy until his elevation to the High Court. .Justice AA Nakkiran earlier served as a Principal District Judge at Thanjavur and was a presiding officer of the Industrial Tribunal, Chennai till his elevation to the High Court. .Justice Veerasamy Sivagnanam enrolled in 1986 and practiced at Kumbakonam courts. He was appointed a Judicial magistrate in 1991. He has served as a Principal District Judge at Theni, Thiruvarur and Thanjavur prior to his elevation..Justice Ganesan Ilangovan, coming from an agriculturist family, did law at Government Law College Tiruchirapalli. He enrolled in 1986 and was appointed as a district munsiff cum judicial magistrate in 1991. He served as a Registrar (Judicial) earlier at the Madurai Bench. He was serving as a Principal District Judge, Madurai when he got appointed to High Court. .Justice Ananthi Subramanian obtained her law degree from Chennai and Madurai law colleges. She began career in judicial services in 1991 and served as civil Judge, junior division in various districts. Between 2016-2020, she served as a Principal District Judge, Vellore and Villupuram. Her father, V Subramanian, had earlier served as a Principal District Judge. While his name was being considered for elevation to the High Court, he passed away, the AG informed. Her younger sister is currently serving as a District Judge in Perambalur. Her husband, R Karthikeya Kumar, is an advocate..Justice Kannammal Shanmuga Sundaram, after her graduation in law, was appointed a civil judge in 1991. She was promoted in 2004 and in 2012. As a District Judge, she worked at Chennai and Madurai and retired in July 2020. While welcoming Justice Sundaram, AG Narayan remarked, “Your ladyship would have had a seamless elevation to the High Court, except for the fact that there were some unavoidable delay in consideration of the names for elevation. Your Ladyship’s own sister has recently retired as a Judge of this Honourable court.”.Justice Sathi Kumar Sukumara Kurup did his law at the Dr Ambedkar Law College, Chennai. He enrolled in 1988 and has practiced on the criminal side. He joined judicial service in 1994 as a district munsiff. He served as a Special Judge under TANPID Act, among other roles. His wife, G Nalini is a practicing advocate at the Madras High Court..Justice Murali Shankar Kuppuraju graduated in law from Coimbatore Law College and enrolled in 1991. He entered judicial service in 1995 and was promoted in 2005 and 2013. He served as the presiding officer of the labour court, and as a principal district judge prior to his elevation..Justice Manjula Ramaraju Nalliah obtained her law degree from the Madras Law College. She went on to obtained three Masters degrees. First, a Masters of Law in contract from Annamalai University, then a Masters degree in Human Rights from the Pondicherry Central University, and also a Master of Arts in Women Studies from the Mother Theresa University in Kodaikanal. .The AG added that Justice Nalliah is currently pursuing a PhD in women’s studies. She enrolled in 1987 and practiced in civil and criminal law. She joined judicial service in 1995. She has served as a Registrar for the Tamil Nadu Human Rights Commission between 2016-17. Before her elevation to the High Court, she was Special Judge for POCSO cases in Chennai. During this time, she also delivered a verdict convicting the accused in the sensational Ayanavaram child rape case..Justice Thamilselvi T Valayapalayam joined judicial service in 1995. Among other roles served during her career, she served as a Registrar at the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court.."As can be seen, your Lordships have experience of 25-30 years of judicial service- be it civil law, criminal law, family law, labour law or the law relating to sales tax. I can say with utmost confidence that your Lordships would make a significant contribution to the cause of administration of justice while maintaining the great traditions of this hallowed institution", AG Narayan observed, while referring to the newly appointed judges' credentials. .Welcome addresses were also rendered by PS Amalraj, Chairman of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, G Mohanakrishan, President of the Madras High Court Advocates' Association, ARL Sundaresan, President of the Madras Bar Association and on behalf of the Women's Law Association and the Law Association.