Madras High Court Acting Chief Justice (ACJ) T. Raja on Thursday administered the oath of office to Justice D. Nagarjun, who was transferred from the Telangana High Court. The swearing-in ceremony of Justice Battu Devanand, who has been transferred from the Andhra Pradesh High Court, is scheduled to take place on Monday.
On March 27, the ACJ had administered the oath of office to judicial officer P. Vadamalai, who was elevated as an additional judge of the High Court.
The ACJ administered the oath of office to Justice Nagarjun in view of the authorisation given by Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi. After he assumed office, Advocate General R. Shunmugasundaram, Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry chairman, P.S. Amalraj and office-bearers of various Bar associations welcomed the new judge.
With his induction, the working strength of judges in the court has increased to 60 as against the sanctioned strength of 75 judges.
In his address, the A-G told the gathering that Justice Nagarjun was born on August 15, 1962 in the erstwhile Mahabub Nagar district of Telangana. He studied at a government school and pursued a science course at RLD college in Wanaparthy town. He obtained his law degree from SSL Law College in Gulbarga. He then enrolled with the Bar Council in 1986, and joined judicial service in 1991. During his tenure as a judicial officer, he was awarded a scholarship for research in international conflict resolution at the University of California in Berkley, from 2002 to 2004. He also obtained his Master’s degree in law and completed his doctoral studies at NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad.
Justice Nagarjun was promoted as District Judge in 2010, and assumed charge as Registrar General of Andhra Pradesh High Court in October 2021. He was elevated as a judge of the Telangana High Court on March 24, 2022 and has now been transferred to the Madras High Court. The A-G assured the new judge of the fullest cooperation of the Madras Bar.
In his reply to the welcome address, Justice Nagarjun said he would strive to discharge his duties with utmost sincerity, dedication and humility.
State Public Prosecutor Hasan Mohammed Jinnah, Additional Advocates General and other law officers participated in the swearing-in ceremony. After the event, the new judge sat along with Justice M. Sundar to hear habeas corpus petitions and criminal appeals.
