Lekshmana Chandra Victoria Gowri, a lawyer who encountered resistance from a portion of the legal community on her appointment to the higher court, took the oath of office as the additional judge of the Madras High Court at 10.25 am on Tuesday.
Acting Chief Justice of the Madras High Court Justice T Raja administered the oath of office to Gowri after performing the customary procedures, which included reading the Warrant of Appointment granted by the President. In addition to Gowri, four other people took the oath of office to serve as additional High Court judges.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud heard the case. Earlier, the case was scheduled to be heard by a bench of justices Sanjeev Khanna and MM Sundresh.
The appointment of Victoria Gowri, a BJP official, as a judge of the high court was opposed by a group of 21 lawyers from the Madras High Court. They wrote to President Droupadi Murmu requesting that she return the dossier presented by the Supreme Court Collegium recommending Gowri’s appointment. The attorneys mentioned instances in which Victoria Gowri was seen making disrespectful statements about communities of colour. Her “regressive ideas” and “deep-rooted religious intolerance,” according to the lawyers, are what render her “unfit to be nominated as judge of the High Court.” They cited a 2018 RSS interview in which Victoria Gowri referred to Christianity as “white terror” and delivered a similar “distasteful rant” against Christians.
“The Collegium’s suggestion to nominate someone who is open about her disdain of minority communities will undoubtedly damages the public’s image of the judiciary’s neutrality. Can any Muslim or Christian plaintiff ever hope to receive justice in Ms. Gowri’s court, if she is elected as a judge, in light of her statements? Sought legal advice.
Gowri has been approved as a high court judge, and in two years, the collegium of the Supreme Court will evaluate her overall competence and appropriateness before voting on whether to affirm her as a permanent judge.
