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Madras HC judge Shivappa found 'overage', retired

Justice C Shivappa of the Madras high court is deemed to have retired in December last year as his date of birth has been determined as December 11, 1936, by President K R Narayanan, according to a communication from Union Law Minister M Thambidurai to acting Chief Justice N K Jain.

The communication, received by the high court registrar, said the President, after consulting Chief Justice of India A S Anand, said the judge's age should be determined on the basis that he was born on December 11, 1936, and not on December 11, 1938.

The registrar informed Justice Shivappa about the communication at noon today while he was presiding over a bench, following which the judge retired to his chambers.

When contacted by reporters, the judge declined to comment. "I will react after receiving the official communique," he said.

The fate of the judgments delivered by Shivappa after December 10, 1998, is unclear.

The judge's age had been a matter of dispute, with an advocate having filed a quo warranto petition, questioning under what authority Shivappa was functioning as a judge of the high court after he attained the age of superannuation on December 10, 1998.

The petitioner had contended that Shivappa, after enrolling as an advocate, had got his date of birth "corrected" to December 11, 1938, in his secondary school leaving certificate and the records of the Bar Council of Karnataka.

Dismissing the petition, Justice K Govindarajan of the Madras high court had held that the court could not exercise powers under Article 226 of the Constitution and it was for the President to decide the issue.

Some high court lawyers felt the communication is justiciable while others wondered why the Union law minister had sent it and not the law secretary.

This is the second time a high court judge has come under a cloud regarding his age. Way back in the Fifties, Justice C Ramachandra Iyer, then chief justice of the Madras high court, was summarily retired after his younger brother performed a religious function to mark his 60th birthday.

Shivappa had assumed office in the high court on April 28, 1994, after his transfer from the Karnataka high court. During his tenure, he disposed of several politically sensitive cases, including the anticipatory bail and bail pleas of former chief minister J Jayalalitha in various corruption cases as well as the FERA (Foreign Exchange Regulation Act) violation cases in which her close associate, Sasikala Natarajan, is an accused.

Meanwhile, the Madras High Court Advocates' Association has decided to convene an extraordinary general body meeting tomorrow to discuss the matter.

UNI

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