Six HC judges sworn in

With the new appointments, judges strength goes up to 54

Bigger team: The newly sworn in judges of the Madras High Court with Chief Justice Indira Banerjee, centre, in Chennai on Wednesday.

The Chief Justice of the Madras High Court on Wednesday administered oath of office to six new judges. With these appointments, the total judges strength of the High Court has increased to 54, as against the total sanctioned strength of 75.

Bhavani Subbarayan, Jagdish Chandra, G.R. Swaminathan, Abdul Quddhose, M. Dhandapani and Audikesavalu are the six practising advocates appointed as additional judges to the High Court.

Justice Bhavani Subbarayan, who was born in 1962, is a native of Thanjavur. An alumnus of Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, Chennai, she enrolled as an advocate in 1986. She had held the posts of Additional Government Pleader and Special Government Pleader in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

Justice Jagadish Chandira, born in 1966, is a native of Thoothukudi. He enrolled as an advocate in 1989 and was an associate in the office of former State Minister and Public Prosecutor late G.R. Edmund. He was appointed as Additional Public Prosecutor in 2010.

Justice G.R. Swaminathan was born in 1968. He hails from Thiruvarur and enrolled as an advocate in 1991. He set up an independent practice in Puducherry in 1997 and later moved to Madurai in 2004 following the establishment of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court. He was appointed as the Assistant Solicitor General of India for the Madurai Bench of the High Court in 2014.

Justice Abdul Quddhose, born in 1969, hails from Theni. A third generation lawyer, he enrolled as an advocate in 1993. His father A. Abdul Hadi was a former judge of the High Court.

Justice M. Dhandapani was born in 1968 and hails from Villupuram. He enrolled as an advocate in 1996 and was appointed as Special Counsel of the Enforcement Directorate for the High Court in 2012. In 2016, he was appointed as the Special Public Prosecutor for the Enforcement Directorate.

Justice P.D. Audikesavalu was born in 1970. He enrolled as an advocate in 1994. He had assisted the present Advocate General of Tamil Nadu R. Muthukumaraswami and has held the posts of standing counsel of SBI and Food Corporation of India.