Lawyer Victoria Gowri Sworn In As Judge, Supreme Court Dismisses Petition

The oath-taking ceremony started while the hearing in the top court was still underway.

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court today dismissed petitions demanding restraining lawyer Lekshmana Chandra Victoria Gowri from taking oath as a judge of the Madras High Court, just as she was being sworn in. The oath-taking ceremony started while the hearing in the top court was still underway.

“We are not entertaining the writ petitions. Reasons will follow,” a special bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai said.

At the beginning of the hearing, Justice Khanna said there is a difference between eligibility and suitability. “On eligibility, there could be a challenge. But suitability… The courts should not get into suitability, otherwise the whole process will become haywire,” he observed.

Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, who had approached the court earlier asking for urgent intervention as the Centre had notified the appointment of Ms Gowri, argued that the decision-making process was stymied as relevant information was not passed to the collegium. The judges said they had read everything placed on record.

On political background, Justice Gavai said he too had a political background, but it has not come in the way of his duties.

“Political background is not the question at all. It is hate speech. Hate speech, which runs completely antithetical to the Constitution. That makes her unfit to take oath. It will only be a paper oath,” Mr Ramachandran then argued.

“I don’t think we are in a position to say this is a question of eligibility. It is more of a question of suitability. Two, we can’t direct the collegium,” the bench said, adding that to assume that the collegium has not taken these things into account “may not be appropriate”.

Some bar members of the Madras High Court had written to the Chief Justice of India seeking recall of the recommendation made for appointing Ms Gowri as an additional judge of the high court, alleging she made hate speeches against Christians and Muslims. Ms Gowri’s proposed elevation has been mired in controversy after reports of her alleged affiliation to the BJP.

After objections by several Madras High Court lawyers, 54 lawyers from Tamil Nadu’s Madurai wrote to the Supreme Court collegium, a panel of senior-most judges who decide on appointments to the higher judiciary, endorsing the recommendation to appoint Ms Gowri as a judge in the Madras High Court. Ms Gowri has represented the Centre before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court.

The lawyers from Madurai call allegations against Victoria Gowri motivated by “political animosity and malafide intent”.