First Goan woman judge in Bombay High Court

The legal fraternity in Goa opines that over the last 23 years as a judge, Anuja Prabhudessai has proven to be very talented, soft-spoken yet decidedly firm in the dispensation of justice.

Judge Anuja Prabhudessai will on Monday become the first woman from Goa to be sworn-in as Judge of the (Bombay) High Court.

For 52 year-old Ms. Prabhudessai, the journey to this position has been a cumbersome one. She was served a suspension order four years back, which many in legal circles suspected to be a systematic ploy to sideline her and abort her impending elevation as judge of the Bombay High Court, as she was the senior most District and Sessions judge at that juncture. The judge faced an entire year under suspension and took the battle all the way to the Supreme Court of India where she was vindicated and finally got justice.

Activist lawyer Aires Rodrigues says, “It was vital for the credibility of the judicial system that the conspirators of that most foul plot against her needed to be exposed and punished”.

The legal fraternity here opines that over the last 23 years as a judge, Ms. Prabhudessai has proven to be very talented, soft-spoken yet decidedly firm in the dispensation of justice. Ever since her appointment as a judge in 1991, Ms. Prabhudessai has displayed extremely high levels of dedication and integrity, according to people from the legal fraternity.