A Full Court referral meeting was held here at Hyderabad High Court on Wednesday bidding adieu to senior judge Justice Ramesh Ranganathan who was elevated as Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court.
While Hyderabad HC Chief Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan and others praised the services rendered by him, Justice Ramesh Ranganathan delivered his farewell speech laced with humour and pun. It is customary for speakers to appreciate an outgoing dignitary glossing over failures and making exaggerations of achievements, he said. The senior judge said he thought he would have to address a near-empty court hall at the time of his transfer or retirement as he strictly adhered to rule books and procedures. However, it was glad to see the crowded First Court hall for his farewell, he said. He said it was sad that on the day he was leaving the HC his senior lawyer Koka Srinivas Murthy (in whose office he started his career) passed away. In a lighter vein, he said that lawyers, clients and others must have been vexed with his adherence to procedures while he was the Acting Chief Justice of Hyderabad HC for 23 months.
“They must have heaved a sigh of relief on hearing about appointment of full-time Chief Justice B. Radhakrishnan,” he said as the audience burst into laughter. He thanked everyone, from personal secretary to car driver, for making him feel comfortable during his tenure as judge and acting chief justice. He recalled how the staff helped him when he had sudden ailments twice and was shifted from the High Court to hospitals.
Lauding his exemplary work, the Chief Justice said that Justice Ranganathan disposed 31,487 petitions, 30 full court petitions and 26,281 miscellaneous petitions.
