Almost everything in the remarkable career of Justice M. Fathima Beevi, who died here at the age of 96, was a first.
In 1950, she was the first student to complete a degree in law with full marks in all subjects, and eight years later, she emerged first in a competitive exam conducted by the Public Service Commission and joined the judicial services as a munsiff. Years later, she became the first woman member of the country’s Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, before becoming the first Muslim woman to enter the higher judiciary as a judge with the Kerala High Court in 1983.
Determined to recast the role of women in Indian judiciary, she then went on to become the first woman judge in the Supreme Court of India, six years later.
