Justice SV Gangapurwala, the 52nd Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, retired from service on Thursday..In the one year that he spent as the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, CJ Gangapurwala disposed of over 14,000 cases and gave several important judgments including the judgment upholding the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act, 2022.In the judgement delivered in November 2023, the bench led by Chief Justice Gangapurwala refused to strike down the Online Games Act in its entirety but ruled that the prohibition would apply only to games of chance and not to games of skill such as rummy and poker.During his tenure as the helm of the High Court, Justice Gangapurwala also streamlined the hearings and disposal of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petitions by getting a separate causelist prepared for PILs and disposing of old PILs that had been pending for long or had been rendered infructuous..When the Supreme Court left it to him to decide on who would hear six suo motu revision petitions taken up by the High Court against sitting as well as former Ministers, CJ Gangapurwala decided that Justice Anand Venkatesh, who had initiated the suo motu action, will continue hearing the matters..Speaking at the farewell function organised on Thursday by the judges of the Madras High Court and the Tamil Nadu Advocate General PS Raman, CJ Gangapurwala said he had gained much during his tenure at Madras.“I was made to feel at home immediately by all judges and members of the Bar. I have had the privilege of listening to some very good arguments that have seemed like music to my ears. And these arguments from both senior and junior members of the Bar inspired me to sit for long hours even beyond the regular court hours,” CJ Gangapurwala said..He also praised the young lawyers of the Madras Bar and said he had high hopes from them. “They are among some of the most talented lawyers that I have come across and I am confident that the young lawyers of the Madras High Court will carry forward the legacy of this Court. They should remember that there is no substitute to hard work and they should always stay true to their conscience,” CJ Gangapurwala said..Speaking at the event, Advocate General PS Raman said CJ Gangapurwala had won everyone’s heart at the Madras High Court just like the Chola king Raja Raja Cholan.The AG also said that in his entire career as a judge, Justice Gangapurwala had disposed of a total of 99,949 cases.“I got to know of these statistics only yesterday. Had I known about it earlier, the Bar members would have ensured your Lordship disposed of 51 more cases to touch the shining six figure,” Raman said in lighter vein..CJ Gangapurwala started his practice as a lawyer in 1985 at Aurangabad. He was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court in 2010. In 2022, Justice SV Gangapurwala was appointed as the Acting Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. On May 29 last year, he was appointed the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court..Following CJ Gangapurwala’s retirement, Justice R Mahadevan, currently the senior most puisne judge of the Madras High Court, will take over as the Acting Chief Justice of the Court.
Justice SV Gangapurwala, the 52nd Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, retired from service on Thursday..In the one year that he spent as the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, CJ Gangapurwala disposed of over 14,000 cases and gave several important judgments including the judgment upholding the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act, 2022.In the judgement delivered in November 2023, the bench led by Chief Justice Gangapurwala refused to strike down the Online Games Act in its entirety but ruled that the prohibition would apply only to games of chance and not to games of skill such as rummy and poker.During his tenure as the helm of the High Court, Justice Gangapurwala also streamlined the hearings and disposal of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petitions by getting a separate causelist prepared for PILs and disposing of old PILs that had been pending for long or had been rendered infructuous..When the Supreme Court left it to him to decide on who would hear six suo motu revision petitions taken up by the High Court against sitting as well as former Ministers, CJ Gangapurwala decided that Justice Anand Venkatesh, who had initiated the suo motu action, will continue hearing the matters..Speaking at the farewell function organised on Thursday by the judges of the Madras High Court and the Tamil Nadu Advocate General PS Raman, CJ Gangapurwala said he had gained much during his tenure at Madras.“I was made to feel at home immediately by all judges and members of the Bar. I have had the privilege of listening to some very good arguments that have seemed like music to my ears. And these arguments from both senior and junior members of the Bar inspired me to sit for long hours even beyond the regular court hours,” CJ Gangapurwala said..He also praised the young lawyers of the Madras Bar and said he had high hopes from them. “They are among some of the most talented lawyers that I have come across and I am confident that the young lawyers of the Madras High Court will carry forward the legacy of this Court. They should remember that there is no substitute to hard work and they should always stay true to their conscience,” CJ Gangapurwala said..Speaking at the event, Advocate General PS Raman said CJ Gangapurwala had won everyone’s heart at the Madras High Court just like the Chola king Raja Raja Cholan.The AG also said that in his entire career as a judge, Justice Gangapurwala had disposed of a total of 99,949 cases.“I got to know of these statistics only yesterday. Had I known about it earlier, the Bar members would have ensured your Lordship disposed of 51 more cases to touch the shining six figure,” Raman said in lighter vein..CJ Gangapurwala started his practice as a lawyer in 1985 at Aurangabad. He was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court in 2010. In 2022, Justice SV Gangapurwala was appointed as the Acting Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. On May 29 last year, he was appointed the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court..Following CJ Gangapurwala’s retirement, Justice R Mahadevan, currently the senior most puisne judge of the Madras High Court, will take over as the Acting Chief Justice of the Court.
