The petitions against the appointment of L. Victoria Gowri as an additional judge of the Madras High Court were heard in the Supreme Court, and there was intense drama there. The oath-taking ceremony in the Madras High Court was due to begin at 10.35 AM, thus the petitioners’ attorneys requested an early hearing. Before a bench made up of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and MM Sundresh, the petitions were originally numbered item number 38.
The Central Government announced the appointment of Advocate L Victoria Gawri as an admission judge in the Madras High Court.The Supreme Court heard an appeal about this Center ruling. This plea was denied by the bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud. Gawri’s appointment as a judge has previously been contested by 21 Madras High Court attorneys. The attorneys had written to President Draupadi Murmu, pleading with him to return the Supreme Court Collegium’s file, which endorsed Victoria Gawri’s nomination. Victoria Gawri, according to the lawyers, is a BJP leader.
Gowri took the oath while the hearing was going on. The division bench quickly dismissed the complaints against Gowri’s nomination. Three explanations were given during the hearing for this: Gowri is only being appointed as an Additional Judge, and there have been cases where people have been appointed but not confirmed, suggesting that the question of suitability could be later considered by the collegium at the stage of confirmation. Therefore, it cannot be assumed that the Collegium was unaware of Gowri’s political background or her controversial statements.
