Senior-most judge of the Madras High Court Justice R Banumathi is likely to become the next Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court. Her name is said to have been recommended by the Supreme Court collegium.
According to sources, it will take at least five to six weeks to complete the process of her appointment. She will become the second lady judge after Justice Gyan Sudha Misra to be appointed as Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court. Banumathi, born on July 20, 1955, was first elevated as the Judge of Madras High Court on April 3, 2003. Before that, she practised on civil and criminal sides in Tirupattur and district court of Krishnagiri and Harur.
Banumathi, who will become the ninth Chief Justice of Jharkhand, also worked as District and Sessions Judge in Coimbatore, Vellore and Principal, District and Sessions Judge in Pudukottai, Madras, Tirunelveli and Salem as well. She also worked as the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Madras.
She entered Higher Judicial Service of Tamilnadu in 1988 directly as a District Judge where she dealt with a number of landmark cases. She also led one-man Commission on police excess by STF in Chinnampathy village, Coimbatore district in 1995-1996. Banumathi was also involved actively in lok Adalat and legal literacy Programme and organized a number of legal literacy camps and lok Adalats in Pudukottai, Tirunelveli, Salem and Madras.
As Judge of Madras High Court, Banumathi dealt with several cases relating to social, cultural and religious issues. She has also been actively participating in judicial activities to strengthen judicial systems, She also became the Director of the Training Programme for Civil Judges (Junior Division) in 1998.
She also played a key role in organizing several training programmes in Judicial Academy and throughout the State of Tamil Nadu responding to the need for continuing judicial education for strengthening judicial system from 2008 to 2010. Banumathi has also a credit of bringing out a book on "Effective District Administration and Court Management", ‘Court Staff - Registers and legal Procedure’ and ‘Important legal Provisions at a glance’.
She also remained as the chairperson of Madras High Court legal Services Committee from February 21, 2011 to January 20, 2012 and organized seven Mega lok Adalats before the Principal Bench and Madurai Bench of Madras HC and settled as many as 1,083 cases.