Banerjee 2nd woman from Bengal to be SC judge

KOLKATA: Eighteen years after Justice Ruma Pal became the first woman from Bengal to be sworn in as a judge of the Supreme Court of India, President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday administered oath to Justice Indira Banerjee as a judge of the apex court.

Justice Pal, who officiated as a Supreme Court judge between January 2000 and June 2006, told ToI, “I am very happy and feel extremely proud. I know she is a very good judge. She will be her best self at the Supreme Court.”

Banerjee, who started practising law at Calcutta High Court in July 1985, was appointed as a permanent judge on February 2, 2002. She served as the Chief Justice of Madras High Court from April 5, 2017 till her induction into the panel of judges of the Supreme Court. “She had worked under me when she was an advocate in Calcutta high court. Therefore, I never appeared before her after she assumed office as a judge at Calcutta HC. But I know she is very meticulous and would pass judgment after considering every aspect of law.” said Samaditya Pal, senior advocate.

Justice Banerjee becomes the second Bengali woman and the eighth woman judge of the apex court. “She deserved this elevation long back. With this, Kolkata gets a representation in Supereme court after four years,” said S B Mookerjee, former Union minister and senior advocate.

One of the demands by Calcutta High Court Bar Association during the threemonth cease work from February to April was representation of Kolkata in the Supreme Court. “This is the fruit of our three-month cease work. this was one of our demands,” said Uttam Majumdar, president, Calcutta High Court Bar Association. Paritosh Sinha, secretary OF Incorporated Law Society, Calcutta, said : “Our demands have been fulfilled.”

The HC’s Bar Library Club president Jayanta Mitra said: “We are proud that she is a member of our library like Justice Ruma Pal. We extend our best wishes.”

“I know her ability to deliver good judgments. My best wishes to her in this new endeavour,” said Pradip Ghosh, senior advocate of Supreme Court.

“She hears each case with patience and is perfect in delivering judgments. It is a matter of pride that she is now at the Supereme Court,” said Sekhar Basu, senior advocate.