the Government High School there.
One of my fellow villagers was the
late Fathima Beevi who, as you know,
became the first woman to become a
judge of the Supreme Court.
One of her nieces was my classmate.
Decades later, I visited her in New
Delhi where she received me with
great warmth when I mentioned our
village name Valanchuzhy. No, I did
not meet her for any favour.
When she was appointed as a judge
of the Supreme Court, the government
at that time did not check whether
there was a precedent of appointing
a woman. Many years earlier when
Anna Chandy was appointed a judge
of the Kerala High Court, nobody
bothered whether any woman was
ever appointed to such a high position.
The point I wanted to make was
that Kerala had the distinction of
producing the first woman High Court
and Supreme Court judges in the
country.
I am personally against the
Collegium system which I think
needs to be replaced with a more
democratic, transparent system.
Since the Collegium system is right
now in vogue, let’s debate the issue
within its four walls. The Collegium
recommended two names for
appointment to the Supreme Court,
that of Indu Malhotra and Justice
KM Jospeh, Chief Justice of the
Uttarakhand High Court. You chose
one and rejected the other.
You know very clearly that in the
Supreme Court, it is seniority which
counts for elevation to the post of
Chief Justice of India. Even if Justice
Joseph is appointed at a later stage,
he would be junior to Justice Indu
Malhotra. In short, you have already
done an irreparable