SC Dismisses Petitions Challenging Victoria Gowri's Appointment As Madras High Court Additional Judge

Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the petitions challenging Victoria Gowri's appointment as Madras High Court Additional Judge. 

New Delhi: Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the petitions challenging Victoria Gowri's appointment as Madras High Court Judge. 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 Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai said.

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 in the beginning of the hearing.

Despite the opposition from the lawyers to her appointment, the Centre on Monday notified the appointment of advocate Lakshmana Chandra Victoria Gowri as an additional judge of the Madras High Court. 

Days ago, a section of the Madras High Court Bar association opposed the apex court collegium’s recommendation to elevate advocate Lekshmana Chandra Victoria Gowri for judgeship at the Madras HC.

Last week, 21 lawyers, opposing Gowri's elevation as a judge wrote to President Droupadi Murmu urging her to return the file submitted by the Supreme Court Collegium recommending the appointment of Victoria Gowri as Madras High Court judge.

The advocates, citing two YouTube interviews by her and a 2012 Organiser article, alleged that Gowri’s “regressive views are completely antithetical to foundational Constitutional values and reflect her deep-rooted religious bigotry,” thus making her “unfit to be appointed as judge of the High Court”. 

On Monday, shortly after Law Minister Kiren Rijiju tweeted a list of 13 names of advocates, including that of Ms. Gowri, who have been cleared for High Court judgeships, CJI DY Chandrachud said, "There are certain developments which have taken place,” taking cognizance of the complaints against Gowri, Bar and Bench reported.

The chief justice said the petition will be heard by the Supreme Court on Tuesday. "Now since we have taken cognisance of these developments, what we can do is list this matter tomorrow morning. I will constitute a Bench and let this case go before the appropriate Bench,” CJI added.

Gowri joined BJP in August 2019 and spent a year as its member. Her Twitter handle then was ‘Chowkidar Victoria Gowri’, with her bio identifying her as the national general secretary of the BJP Mahila Morcha.