Governor Banwarilal Purohit is learnt to have telephoned Madras High Court Chief Justice Vijaya Kamlesh Tahilramani and expressed regret over the protocol gaffe at the Raj Bhavan during her swearing-in ceremony on Sunday, when judges of the High Court were seated behind police officers in uniform. Many judges were upset over the breach in protocol.
According to highly placed sources, the Chief Justice called for a meeting with the judges after the Independence Day celebrations in the High Court on Wednesday.
She informed them about the call that she received from the Governor to express his regret and extend an invitation for the Independence Day at-home at the Raj Bhavan.
She told them that the Governor’s Principal Secretary R. Rajagopal called on her on Tuesday to hand over the invitation. Then, he too apologised for the gaffe.
Since the Governor himself had extended a personal invitation to her over phone and expressed regret over the happenings, she told the judges that it would not be proper if she did not reciprocate by attending the reception, jointly hosted by him and the First Lady Pushpa Devi Purohit.
The Chief Justice told the judges that the Governor requested her to convey his message to all of them.
A majority of the judges expressed satisfaction over the Governor having taken serious note of the issue, and agreed to let the matter rest. But, some of them did not attend the reception.
Taking questions from journalists at a government function on Wednesday, Law Minister C.Ve. Shanmugam disapproved of the seating arrangements and said, “It should have been avoided. It is condemnable,” he said.
The protocol goof-up had snowballed into a huge controversy with a majority of the High Court judges expressing dismay. Justice M.S. Ramesh had gone on record questioning the reason behind Raj Bhavan officials not having allowed the Registrar General and Registrar (Liasoning) of the High Court to inspect the seating arrangements.
Madras High Court Advocates Association (MHAA) too passed a resolution condemning the “unceremonial and undignified manner in which the seating arrangements were made on the occasion of swearing-in” and hoped that such incident would not recur since “it will not be tolerated by the lawyers’ fraternity.”
