KOCHI: Amid the debate around the collegium system for judges’ appointment, a book released last week says late Elizabeth Mathai Idiculla, who served as the principal district and sessions judge in Ernakulam, was overlooked for the High Court judge appointment in 1982-83 despite being the senior-most woman district judge.
The book, Amma: A Bouquet of Memories, by Elizabeth’s daughter Jyothi Mariam Idiculla, quotes Justice U L Bhat as saying, ‘Elizabeth was one of my best officers who missed the bus’. Though Jyothi cleverly omits the name of the person who benefitted from the HC posting, she leaves enough room for the reader to get an idea of how the system worked back then.
When late Justice P Janaki Amma retired as Kerala High Court judge in April 1982, it was believed Elizabeth would be the natural choice given her seniority. “Though Amma was the senior most lady judge in service in the state, another who had already retired and left the Kerala service in lien was recommended and appointed to the post,” says the book.
Elizabeth served as the Ernakulam principal district and sessions judge from August 31, 1979, to May 17, 1980. “She was first in her batch in the judicial officer’s selection examination and maintained the top position in the list throughout her career. In 1979, she was designated the Selection Grade District Judge. She was recognised as eminent, efficient and elegant,” Jyothi writes.
So, who benefitted at Elizabeth’s expense? Though Jyothi does not name anyone directly, the book quotes extensively from Leila Seth’s autobiography ‘On Balance’ (Penguin Books). Seth was the first woman judge on Delhi HC and the first woman chief justice of Himachal Pradesh.
‘Elizabeth’s verdict on FACT CMD displeased HC’
One of the excerpts from ‘On Balance’ reads: “Justice Fathima Beevi had been in judicial service since 1958 and was elevated to the Kerala HC in 1983. She retired in April 1989 at age 62. Since she had already retired more than five months earlier, it was quite unusual-perhapsunique that her name should have been put up for the SC.
A couple of SC judges told me that she had lobbied for the position on the grounds that she would be the first Muslim woman in the world to be the judge of an SC, and that there was at the time no Muslim judge in the SC. When it was pointed out to her that Justice Ahmadi was an SC judge, she had responded that he was not a Muslim, merely an Ahmadi – and that even Pakistan did not treat Ahmadi as Muslims.” Jyothi further quotes from Seth’s book: “Though I had heard some stories and gossip about Justice Fathima Beevi being appointed to the SC, I didn’t give them much credence.
As a result, when her appointment was actually announced and she was sworn in on 6 October, I felt terribly upset, both for the system and for myself. It showed that lobbying worked. It showed that politics worked. It showed that the misuse of religion worked. Above all, it showed that every decent convention could be broken and that merit has no consideration.... The only person left out from the two lists was myself, as it was felt that the Supreme Court now had its token woman.”
Former legislator and legal expert Sebastian Paul told TNIE that it was true “Fathima Beevi ’s was an unusual appointment.” “Elizabeth Idiculla had the ‘displeasure’ of the HC, for ‘personal and professional reasons.’ While those who have the HC’s ‘pleasure’ get everything, others are overlooked on various grounds,” Paul said.
Paul said one reason behind the HC’s ‘displeasure’ was Elizabeth’s landmark judgment as CBI Special Judge acquitting MKK Nair, the CMD of Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd (FACT), for amassing wealth disproportionate to his income. In the 1,400-page judgment, Elizabeth noted that the amassed wealth shrank by 50% on analysing the submitted documents and reprimanded the CBI for concocting the charges.
“Taken aback by the intrepid judgment, the CBI said they would file an appeal. No loophole could be detected in the verdict despite meticulous scrutiny by the prosecution and prominent SC lawyers. A lost appeal would have meant an irrecoverable loss of credibility to the CBI!” says the book.
What was the judgment
Sebastian Paul said one reason behind the HC’s ‘displeasure’ was Elizabeth’s landmark judgment as CBI Special Judge acquitting FACT CMD M K K Nair, in a disproportionate assets case. In the verdict, Elizabeth noted that the amassed wealth shrank by 50% on analysing the submitted documents and reprimanded the CBI for concocting the charges