Justice Banumathi becomes 1st woman SC judge from TN

CHENNAI: Justice R Banumathi has become the first woman judge from Tamil Nadu to be elevated to the Supreme Court. Set to have a tenure of about six years in the apex court, she was sworn in on Wednesday.

Justice Banumathi is only the sixth woman judge of the SC since Independence. With her appointment, the 30-judge SC will now have two woman judges. The other is Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, who is scheduled to retire on October 29. The sanctioned strength of the apex court is 31.

The other women judges of the court were Justice M Fathima Beevi of Kerala (who was the first woman SC judge), Justice Sujata V Manohar (Maharashtra), Justice Ruma Pal (West Bengal) and Justice Gyan Sudha Misra (Bihar).

After being directly appointed as district judge in 1988 and elevated to the high court in April 2003, Justice Banumathi handled several sensitive cases and assignments with aplomb. Considered a stickler for rules and discipline, she is best remembered for her double life imprisonment for the disgraced godman Premananda, who was convicted for sexual harassment of ashram inmates and murder in 1997. Making it clear that he would not be eligible for any remission or early release, she said in the judgment that he would serve his second life term after completion of the first life sentence. The order was meant to keep the godman in jail forever. He died in jail in February 2011.

Justice Banumathi tamed the bull when she banned jallikkattu and bull taming game in rural Tamil Nadu. The judgment paved the way for formulating guidelines to regulate the traditional sport in the state.

(Justice Banumathi)
Dealing with the police-advocate clash on the high court campus on February 19, 2009, she ordered suspension of three IPS officers. In February 2010, she justified the government takeover of the administration of the famous fifth-century Natarajar temple in Chidambaram saying, "Administration of temple is purely secular and the state can intervene and regulate the administration if the secular activities of the institution are mismanaged." The judgment, however, was overturned by the Supreme Court earlier this year.

Justice Banumathi sorted out a huge service crisis in police department when she held that the accelerated promotion given to more than 1,000 police personnel involved in the operation against forest brigand Veerappan was a one-stage affair and that for further promotions the beneficiaries must await their batchmates.

It was Justice Banumathi's order which saw a total ban on sand mining on Tamiraparani river bed in Tirunelveli. After a while, she permitted use of heavy machineries, but made it clear that it cannot exceed two for each quarry. It, thus, ended indiscriminate sand mining beyond permissible limits by unscrupulous mining contractors.

Women judges

Justice M Fathima Beevi (Kerala): Appointed judge of the Supreme Court on October 6, 1989, and retired on April 29, 1992.

Justice Sujata V Manohar (Maharashtra): Elevated to the Supreme Court on November 8, 1994, and retired on August on 27, 1999.

Justice Ruma Pal (West Bengal): Appointed on January 28, 2000 and retired on June 3, 2006.

Justice Gyan Sudha Misra (Bihar): Appointed to Supreme Court on April 30, 2010 and retired on April 27, 2014.

Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai: Appointed on September 13, 2011, and scheduled to retire on October 29, 2014.