- Friday, April 19, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE Narendra Modi government has cleared all nine names recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium to the country’s apex court, clearing the way for Justice BV Nagarathna to become India’s first woman chief justice in 2027, creating a record in the history of the country’s judiciary.
The files have reportedly been forwarded to President Ram Nath Kovind and if everything falls in place, the Supreme Court will swear in nine new judges on August 31. Besides Justice Nagarathna, names of two other women judges – Justice Hima Kohli, the chief justice of the Telangana High Court, and Justice Bela M Trivedi, a senior judge of the Gujarat High Court – have been recommended by the collegium for appointment to the top court.
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The 58-year-old Nagarathna, who started her legal career in Bangalore in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, will be the second chief justice in her family as her late father ES Venkataramiah was the chief justice for almost six months in 1989. She was appointed as an additional judge to Karnataka High Court in 2008 and became a permanent judge in 2010. She is likely to have a month-long tenure as the chief justice between September and October 2027.
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Justice Nagarathna rose to prominence in November 2009 when she, along with two other judges of the Karnataka High Court, was locked in a courtroom by a group of protesting lawyers but she faced the situation in a dignified manner. On the occasion, she had said, “We are not angry, but we are sad that the Bar has done this to us. We have to hang our heads in shame.”
During her days at the Karnataka High Court, Justice Nagarathna presided over some important cases on education policy. A bench led by her had asked a committee of experts to submit a draft roadmap for improving facilities in government schools.
During the coronavirus pandemic, she asked the state government to ensure a wider reach of online classes for children. “Pandemic or no pandemic, education of children must go on,” she said time and again. She also asked the state government to facilitate the transport of several thousands of migrants who found themselves in great jeopardy at the time of the pandemic-induced lockdown. She has also emphasised on the need to regulate electronic media in a judgment she delivered in 2012.
Justice Nagarathna’s elevation to the top position at the Supreme Court could change the position of women in the Indian judiciary. The Supreme Court, which came into being on January 26, 1950, has seen appointment of only eight women judges till date, starting from M Fathima Beevi in 1989. The apex court currently has only one woman judge –Justice Indira Banerjee — who will retire in 2022.
Besides the three women judges, the collegium has recommended the following names: Chief Justice AS Oka, Chief Justice Vikram Nath of the Gujarat High Court, Sikkim Chief Justice JK Maheshwari, Justice CT Ravikumar of the Kerala High Court, Justice MM Sundresh of the Madras High Court and senior Advocate PS Narasimha.
The current strength of the Supreme Court is 24 and even with the addition of nine judges, there will be a vacancy of one judge.
