Ex-Madras HC judge Kanagaraj appointed as SEC

Ordinance curtailing term to 3 years ends Ramesh Kumar’s tenure

V. Kanagaraj taking charge as A.P. State Election Commissioner.

In a swift development that caught everyone by surprise, the Andhra Pradesh government has appointed a retired Madras High Court judge, Justice V. Kanagaraj, as the State Election Commissioner (SEC) in the place of N. Ramesh Kumar, whom it had expelled through an overnight ordinance.

Justice Kanagaraj served as the Madras High Court judge for nine years and had several landmark judgements to his credit, particularly in cases related to the education sector and women and children's safety.

He graduated from the Madras Law College in 1972 and started practising as a member of the Salem Bar Association in 1973. He had the distinction of sitting in the Madurai Bench of the Madras HC, which is the only Bench created after 57 years of independence in the country, on its inaugural day.

After retirement, Justice Kanagaraj resumed legal practice in the Supreme Court where he had been a designated senior advocate.

Justice Kanagaraj's appointment as the SEC has been facilitated by the curtailment of the tenure of the SEC to three years through ordinance No.5 of 2020, which resulted in the automatic termination of the services of incumbent Mr. Ramesh Kumar.

Deferment of polls

Mr. Ramesh Kumar took charge as the SEC in April 2016 and has been in the eye of a storm since his postponement of the local body elections purportedly due to the coronavirus scare and requesting the Union Home Ministry to give him protection by the Central police forces.

This followed a sharp attack by none other than the Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy who attributed motives to his (Mr. Kumar) decision to defer the polls.

The Chief Minister accused Mr. Kumar of keeping the government in the dark about the contingency (COVID) which he cited as the reason for putting off the elections.