Justice N. Kirubakaran, the senior most judge of Madras High Court is due to retire from service on Friday. He would be accorded a farewell by the court on Thursday since Friday happens to be a holiday on account of Muharram.
The judge has been quite popular among sections of the people in the State, because of his views and verdicts touching upon various social issues. He has been a judge of the High Court since March 31, 2009.
Being vocal on controversial issues too, he had advocated reservations for the economically weaker sections of society much before the Centre amended the Constitution for this purpose. He had also criticised the politicisation of student suicides due to the introduction of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for medical admissions.
He had to face the ire of the lawyers in 2015, when he ordered the strict implementation of the statutory rule mandating two-wheeler riders to wear helmets. A section of lawyers burnt a helmet, using petrol, inside the Madurai Bench campus alleging harassment at the hands of the police because of his verdict.
Nevertheless, the judge remained steadfast in his views and continued to oppose those who “purchase” law degrees from namesake law colleges in neighbouring States and bring disrepute to the black robes by indulging in undesirable activities.
Presiding over different Division Benches, he had declared former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s niece J. Deepa and nephew J. Deepak to be her legal heirs entitled to inherit all properties. He had also permitted former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case convicts S. Nalini and her husband Murugan alias Sriharan to talk to their relatives in Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom over the phone.
He had suggested castration as a punishment for the offence of rape, prohibited rooster fights, banned TikTok, spoken against hate politics, ordered the closure of many State-run liquor shops, implemented the rule to fix speed governors in heavy vehicles and supported archaeological excavations to study the history of Tamils.
Justice Kirubakaran had courted many controversies including the instance when he criticised government school teachers for striking work despite being paid well compared to private school teachers. He had been a strong advocate of providing weekly off days for policemen and sanctioning leave for them to spend time with their families.
Advocate N.G.R. Prasad, who has completed 60 years of practice in the Bar, hailed Justice Kirubakaran as a “people's lawyer” and his court as a “people's court.” In a lighter vein, the lawyer said: “His is a court where lawyers can appear confidently without wearing a helmet.”