Passing orders and rendering judgements is not the only duty of courts and judges: unless court orders are implemented in true letter and spirt, they are nothing but waste paper, said, Justice Battu Devanand on Monday, after assuming office as a judge of the Madras High Court, following his transfer from Andhra Pradesh.”
In his reply to the welcome speeches delivered by the Bar, the judge said, “Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s interactions with the great Periyar (Dravidian idealogue E.V. Ramasamy) here in Tamil Nadu might have definitely reflected in some crucial pages of the primary law of the land that is the Constitution of India.”
He added: “The legacy of such luminaries spills over throughout the course of legal history made by this august High Court. It has a unique contribution in shaping the laws of our nation... We the people of India are the true masters and all the three branches of Constitutional governance must serve ably to safeguard their interests.”
Madras High Court Acting Chief Justice T. Raja administered the oath of office to Justice Devanand at a ceremony attended by a gathering of lawyers, court staff and others. With his swearing-in, the working strength of the Madras High Court has increased to 61 as against its sanctioned strength of 75 judges.
The oath was administered after Registrar General P. Dhanabal read out the notification issued by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice notifying the Presidential warrant of transfer and the authorisation given by Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi to the Acting Chief Justice to administer the oath of office to the new judge.
In his welcome address, Advocate General R. Shunmugasundaram said, Justice Devanand was born on April 14, 1966 at Gudivada town in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh to a couple who were government schoolteachers. He had his primary school education at a panchayat elementary school and his high school education in a municipal school.
While pursuing his bachelor’s degree at A.N.R. College in Gudivada, he was the students’ union president in 1984-85. Subsequently, he obtained his law degree from the College of Law, Andhra University in Vishakapattinam and again served as students’ union president of the law college in 1988-89.
He enrolled with the Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh on July 6, 1989 and began practicing at the courts in Vishakapattinam. After shifting his practice to the High Court of Andhra Pradesh, he served as Assistant Government Pleader from 1996 to 2000 and was also a standing counsel for various Central government undertakings.
He was also the Government Pleader in the High Court from 2014 to 2019 and got elevated as a judge of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh on January 13, 2020. During his practice, he was known for his pro bono work for the disadvantaged sections of the society and handled a range of issues across the legal spectrum, the A-G said.
Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry chairman P.S. Amalraj, Madras High Court Advocates Association president G. Mohanakrishnan, Madras Bar Association president V.R. Kamalanathan, Women Lawyers Association president Louisal Ramesh and Law Association president P. Selvaraj also welcomed the judge.
State Public Prosecutor Hasan Mohamed Jinnah, Additional Advocates General, State Government Pleader P. Muthukumar and other law officers participated in the swearing-in ceremony.
