CHENNAI: Fifteen newly appointed judges were inducted into the Madras High Court here on Sunday. Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari administered the oath of office to K Govindarajan, Rajnish Pathiyil, N Ramesh, G K Muthukumar, R Rajesh Vivekanandan, S Raveekumar, N Dilip Kumar, E Manoharan, P Murugan, M D Sumathi, S Alli, C Thirumagal, S Karthikeyan, B Murugesan and N Gunasekaran at the induction ceremony.
Of them, K Govindarajan, Rajnish Pathiyil, N Ramesh, G K Muthukumar and R Rajesh Vivekanandan were appointed as permanent judges and the remaining as additional judges.
Alli and Thirumagal, drawn from the district judiciary, had already retired from service. But the Collegium had recommended their names for elevation to the high court well before their retirement; and taking it into account, the centre notified their appointment to the high court.
With the appointment of 15 new judges, the strength of the high court has increased to 66. The sanctioned strength is 75.
Advocate General Vijay Narayan, in his welcome address, stated that the Madras High Court is currently having 13 women judges, the highest among the high courts in the country. He said the appointment of the new judges, will reduce the pendency of cases and enable speedy delivery of justice.
Recalling that the strength of the court was only 18 when he joined the Bar, Vijay Narayan appealed to the chief justice to identify the “best young talents” keeping in mind the principles of “social inclusivity” and recommend them for elevation as judges, so that one day, “at least once in our life time”, the court touches the full sanctioned strength of 75.
‘Form independent body to select SC, HC judges’
Madurai: Noted Advocate S Vanchinathan on Sunday suggested the formation of an independent body to select judges for HC and SC, and to introduce reservation in the selection process. He spoke to media persons in Madurai as eight advocates and seven judges were sworn in as judges on Sunday. All of them were BJP or union government counsel, or from the upper castes, he said, adding, “BJP wanted to bring women’s reservation in Parliament, but no reservation for women in court?”