Madras High Court Chief Justice S.V. Gangapurwala on Monday, administered the oath of office to Justices N. Senthilkumar and G. Arul Murugan, who were appointed as additional judges of the High Court after being elevated from the Bar. With their elevation, the working strength of the High Court has increased to 65, as against its sanctioned strength of 75 judges.
Advocate General R. Shunmugasundaram welcomed the two new judges and introduced them to the gathering. He said, Justice Senthilkumar was born to S. Narayanasamy and K.S. Sankaravalli in Chennai on October 12, 1970. His mother served as a Member of the Acharapakkam legislative constituency in 2006 and his father served in the Railway Protection Force. He studied at the Railway Mixed Higher Secondary School in Perambur.
After obtaining his law degree from the Central Law College in Salem in 1994 and enrolling with the Bar Council, “He started to work with me as a junior. It is an honour and a joy to be here with His Lordship N. Senthilkumar on this day. He was tenacious, hardworking, committed and eager to learn during his years of practice as a junior. He assisted in several cases including referred trial matters on death sentences, writ petitions and trial work,” the A-G said.
The A-G also stated that after establishing independent practice, his former junior was appointed as a Government Advocate (writ side) in 2007 and served as an Additional Government Pleader (writ side) between 2009 and 2011. He also served as a senior standing counsel for the customs and central excise departments, and for the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) during his 28 years of standing in the Bar.
Introducing Justice Murugan, the A-G said that he was born to P. Ganapathi and K. Neelamani on May 27, 1976 and hailed from Salem. His father was a government higher secondary school headmaster. He had also completed his law degree from the Central Law College in Salem and enrolled with the Bar Council in 1999. He was a junior of advocate K. Doraisamy, and started independent practice in 2003.
During his 25-year stint as a lawyer, he specialized in civil, criminal and writ cases and had a commendable practice at the Bar, resulting in more than 75 reported judgements. He had represented his clients before the High Court, the Debt Recovery Tribunal, Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunal and National Green Tribunal. His areas of expertise were mining, tenders, contractual disputes and service matters.
“From humble beginnings, both your Lordships have attained this position through your sincere efforts and diligent work, I hope that your success will serve as an inspiration for Bar members to work relentlessly in order to thrive in this noble profession. On a personal note, I would like to say that I have had the pleasure and benefit of being instructed by both of them in a number of matters and I now look forward on being on the other side of the Bench,” the A-G concluded.
