Former Chief Justice of India P. Sathasivam is to be the next Governor of Kerala following the resignation of Sheila Dikshit a few days ago.
Speaking to The Hindu from his Kadappanallur village near Erode in Tamil Nadu, Justice Sathasivam said the warrant of appointment by the President Pranab Mukherjee is expected on Saturday night. This is the first time a retired CJI is being appointed to serve as a Governor of a State. There have been instances where former Chief Justices of High Courts were appointed as Governors.
Justice Sathasivam while expressing his happiness to serve the people in the capacity as Governor said for the last four months, he had not accepted any arbitration or consultation work for corporates and he was happy doing farming work in the village assisting his son. He recalled his farewell speech that he would accept any position befitting his stature and accordingly he decided to accept the Governor’s post.
Justice Sathasivam (65) was the first Judge from Tamil Nadu to become the CJI. He never served as Chief Justice of a High Court as he was elevated directly to the Supreme Court in August 2007 when he was serving as a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He was the 40th CJI and he served in that post for nine months from July 2013 to April 2014.
Hailing from Kadappanallur Village, Justice Sathasivam belonged to an agricultural family and he was the first graduate in his family and the first law graduate in his village. He was appointed as a permanent Judge of the Madras High Court on January 8, 1996.
On April 20, 2007, he was transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He was appointed as the Judge of the Supreme Court August 21, 2007.
As a Supreme Court Judge, Justice Sathasivam has delivered some landmark judgments on matters of national importance which include Reliance Natural Resources Ltd. vs. Reliance Industries Limited wherein he emphasised the use of natural resources through Public Sector Undertakings.
He ordered the release of death row convicts on the ground that there was inordinate delay in disposal of their mercy petitions by the President.
