CHENNAI: Amid controversy and litigation in the Supreme Court, Lekshmana Chandra Victoria Gowri has been sworn-in as an additional judge of the prestigious Madras High Court.
Acting Chief Justice T Raja administered her oath of office Tuesday in the presence of judges and a host of judicial officers and lawyers at the swearing-in ceremony held in the High Court premises. She will hold the post of additional judge for a period of two years from the date of taking oath.
Along with here, four others-Pillaipakkam Bahukutumbi Balaji, Kandhasami Kulanthaivelu Ramakrishnan, Ramachandran Kalaimathi and Govindarajan Thilakavadi-also were sworn in as additional judges.
Advocate General (AG) R Shunmugasundaram welcomed the newly sworn-in judges. Victoria faced objections from a section of lawyers of the Madras High Court for her alleged ‘hate speeches’ against the minorities. However, the Supreme Court dismissed a batch of petitions challenging her elevation on Tuesday.
She was born on May 21, 1973 in Kanyakumari district. She enrolled as a lawyer in 1995 and practiced in civil, criminal, tax and labour matters. She has been holding the post of assistant solicitor general (ASG) of the Centre in Madurai Bench of Madras High Court since 2022.
Balaji enrolled in 1996 and has practiced in the High Court. His father PB Ramanujam is a well known lawyer practicing for the last sixty years.
Ramakrishnan, born in Ayyampalayam in Dindigul district, graduated from Madurai law college before enrolling in 1999. He had practiced in criminal side and went on to become additional public prosecutor.
Born in Puducherry in 1968, Kalaimathi joined the judicial service in 1995 as a civil judge before rising to the position of district judge. Currently, she is serving as principal district sessions judge in Salem.
Fifty six year old Thilakavadi was recruited to the judicial service in 1995 and was promoted as district judge in 2007. She has been serving as Registrar in the principal bench of Madras High Court since 2021.
With the appointment of the five new judges, the strength of the High Court has risen to 57.