CHENNAI: Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari was sworn in as the 55th Chief Justice of the Madras High Court on Friday, following the retirement of Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava.
Governor RN Ravi administered him the oath of office at a ceremony held in the Lok Bhavan. Judges of the high court, Minister for Courts, Prisons and Minerals and Mines S Regupathy, deputy speaker of the Assembly K Pitchandi and advocate general PS Raman participated in the event.
Later, Dharmadhikari was given a warm welcome at the high court. Addressing the function, the new chief justice said his foremost duty is to preserve and strengthen the legacy of jurisprudence and integrity of the Madras High Court which is a chartered high court.
Stating that the institution is greater than any individual, and its credibility rests upon its independence, transparency and public confidence, the CJ urged the lawyers of the high court to work together for reducing the pendency of cases and avoid unnecessary adjournments and curb fruitless litigation.
Emphasising that the justice delivery system must be citizen-centric, the CJ said the system has to be continuously modernised so as to make it accessible to the common litigants through e-filing and hybrid hearing. Efforts towards digitisation and simplification of the procedures and sensitivity towards the litigants, particularly the marginalized shall be given attention, he said.
Born on July 8, 1966, at Raipur, Dharmadhikari obtained bachelor’s degree in Commerce and Law from Nagpur University and enrolled as an advocate in 1992 in the high court of Madhya Pradesh at Jabalpur.