Young Staffer Then, This Senior Supreme Court Official Took Justice BV Nagarathna to School in Delhi

When justice BV Nagarathna takes oath to become a Supreme Court judge on Tuesday, there will be one person who can boast of a personal connection with the woman poised to become the first female chief justice of India. A senior registrar at the Supreme Court now, this person took her to school as a child, according to a report by NDTV.

Nine judges will be sworn in as justices of the apex court on Tuesday, of whom three are women, including justice Nagarathna. On August 26, the president approved their names, recommended by the Supreme Court collegium. She will be elevated to the position of Chief Justice of India (CJI) in 2027 on the principle of seniority, after the SC completes 77 years in existence.

Justice Nagarathna spent most of her student life in the nation capital when her father justice ES Venkataramiah headed the apex court for six months in 1989.

At a speech during her farewell organised by the Karnataka High Court, she talked about her days at Sophia High School and New Delhi’s Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

“My teachers at Sophia High School inculcated in me a sense of discipline and kindness towards all. My teachers at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, New Delhi, exposed me to the variety and diverse Indian culture which has endowed my life for this great country and its people, culture and historical heritage,” Justice Nagarathna was quoted as saying in the report.

As told to NDTV by a source from Supreme Court, the person who helped her get admission to Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan was a young SC staffer, who would also drop her at school and pick her up.

“Our country India, or Bharat, is not just a piece in history or geography. It is a nation of over a billion people with over a billion dreams. I have often wondered what binds us together despite the innumerable diversities. It is my firm conviction that one of the binding factors is the Indian Constitution…,” she was quoted as saying.

As reported by The Indian Express, among her landmark judgments is one that stressed on the need to regulate electronic media and, in the 2012 judgment, she urged the Centre to set up an autonomous and statutory mechanism to regulate broadcast media.

Apart from her, justices Hima Kohli, Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court, and Bela Trivedi of Gujarat High Court will also be sworn in on Tuesday, making it the largest appointment of women to the top court.

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