Two women judges among HC's top 3

A Subramani, TNN | Jul 18, 2013, 03.44 AM 

CHENNAI: The Madras high court has become the first in the country to have two women among the top three judges, who form the prestigious collegium. 

With the retirement of Justice Elipe Dharma Rao on July 14, Justice R Banumathi ascended to the number two position in the high court while Justice Chitra Venkataraman became the third senior-most judge.

 A collegium comprises the top three judges and its most cherished constitutional duty is to shortlist eligible advocates and subordinate judicial officers for appointment as judges of the court. 

The court also has the maximum number of women judges among all HCs. Of the seven women judges, two -Justice Chitra Venkataraman and Justice K Suguna - were chosen from the bar, while the other five - Justice Banumathi, Justice R Mala, Justice Aruna Jagadeesan, Justice K B K Vasuki and Justice S Vimala - worked their way up from the subordinate judiciary. 

The remarkable career of Justice Banumathi, who is the second senior-most judge in the court, began in 1988 when she was appointed district judge at the age of 33. She became the first judge to be appointed directly as district judge. She headed the judiciary in important districts like Coimbatore, Chennai, Vellore, Pudukottai, Tirunelveli and Salem. In 2003, she was appointed judge of the high court. She is likely to be made the chief justice of a high court in three-four months, sources told TOI. 

It will be another first when Justice Banumathi assumes charge as the executive chairperson of the Tamil Nadu State Legal Services Authority on Thursday. 

An official notification to this effect was issued by the home department on July 14, the day Justice Elipe Dharma Rao retired. She will be the first woman to head the legal services authority, which is in charge of promoting and conducting lok adalats, legal awareness campaigns, free legal aid and other service activities throughout the state. 

Justice Chitra Venkataraman is a tax specialist. Born on April 22, 1952, she was appointed additional judge of the court on December 10, 2005 and was made permanent judge of the court on April 20, 2007.