Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, Justice Dr. Manjula Chellur, on Monday took oath as the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court at a swearing-in ceremony held at Raj Bhavan.
Maharashtra Governor CH. Vidyasagar Rao administered the oath of office to Justice Chellur at the ceremony attended by Governor’s wife CH Vinodha, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Haribhau Bagde, among others.
Justice Chellur will be the second woman Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court after Justice Sujata Manohar in 1994. She will have a tenure as the court’s 41st Chief Justice till her retirement on December 4, 2017. Born on December 5, 1955 in Bellary, Justice Chellur completed her Bachelor of Arts degree from Bellary College before joining Renukacharya Law College, Bengaluru to complete her LLB degree in 1977.
After a brief stay in the UK where she got a chance to visit the Crown Court in Hurham, she enrolled as an advocate in August 1978, and became the first woman advocate to practise at Bellary. She served as legal advisor to several banks and agro industries, and handled several important cases both on the civil and criminal sides.
She joined the Karnataka judicial service as District Judge in April 1988 and was appointed as Additional Judge of the Karnataka High Court in 2000. She became the first woman judge to become a permanent judge five months later. In 1997, she travelled to Warwick University in UK on a Gender and Law fellowship.
Justice Chellur served as the president of the Karnataka Judicial Academy from 2008 to 2010. As Executive Chairperson of the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority, she worked for transgender welfare and arranged seminars throughout the State. In November 2011, she was transferred to the Kerala High Court as the Acting Chief Justice, and became the Chief Justice in September 2012. In 2013, she was conferred a degree of Doctor of Law (Honoris Causa) by the Karnataka State Women’s University.
Justice Chellur took charge as Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court in August 2014.
