Madras High Court Chief Justice S.V. Gangapurwala on Thursday, June 1, 2023 assured the Bar and the people of the State in general that he would adopt the traditions, conventions and culture of Tamil Nadu and live with them like how sugar gets dissolved in milk and enriches its taste.
“The Parsis from Persia had fled and landed at Navsari, the coastal region of Gujarat. The King there took a glass of milk filled to the brim and said, you have no place here. The leader of the Parsis put sugar in the milk and said, we will live with you like this,” he recalled and promised to repeat it during his tenure in Tamil Nadu.
“Having been a judge of the Bombay High Court for the last 13 years, I bring greetings from the land of saints and scholars to the people of the land rich in art, culture and intellect. As a Chief Justice of this glorious High Court, it would be my honour and privilege to work along with brother and sister judges and also the members of the Bar,” he said.
In his acceptance speech to the welcome address by Advocate General R. Shunmugasundaram, the chairman of Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and office bearers of various Bar associations, he promised that all stakeholders would be taken into confidence in every important decision making process and it would be his bounden duty to redress their grievances.
In his address, the A-G said, the Chief Justice was born into a family of lawyers with his father being an accomplished lawyer in Maharashtra.
“In December 2022, his Lordship was elevated to the position of Acting Chief Justice of the chartered High Court of Bombay after completing 12 arduous years of service. This day, his Lordship is sitting as the Chief Justice in the chartered High Court of Madras. Indeed, the chance to lead two chartered High Courts is uncommon in anyone’s judicial career and Your Lordship is gifted with that rare opportunity,” the A-G remarked.
Listing some of the judgements delivered by the Chief Justice during his tenure in the Bombay High Court, the A-G said, he was a distinguished and diligent jurist renowned for giving each party a patient hearing. The A-G said, it was indeed a great honour to have the 52nd Chief Justice of Madras High Court lead a formidable strength of 64 judges including 13 women.
“Our efforts will be to make Your Lordship comfortable while staying in Tamil Nadu. Your Lordship will find a dialect of Marathi spoken in Tamil Nadu which is known as Thanjavur Marathi. Researchers say that the dialect has words used 300 years back and now discontinued in Maharashtra. At present, Marathi is the mother tongue of one lakh people in Tamil Nadu,” the A-G said.
He went on to state: “They are descendants of those who settled in Thanjavur when Ekoji alias Venkoji Raja Bhonsle, half-brother of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj conquered Thanjavur in 1676 and founded Maratha rule. It is worth mentioning that Tanjore painting, a form of art, flourished and attained its pinnacle during the Maratha rule. Also, Marathi inscriptions can be seen at the Big Temple in Thanjavur. This illustrates the strong historical ties that exist between our two States. I wish Your Lordship an enjoyable stay and fruitful tenure of office in the Madras High Court.”
