Four years and seven months after it was carved out as a separate State, Telangana got a High Court for itself with the swearing-in of its first Chief Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan and 12 other judges here on Tuesday.
The Chief Justice was sworn in by Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan at Raj Bhavan in the presence of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao at 8.30 a.m. Two hours later, the CJ administered the oath of office to the 12 judges in the forecourt of the imposing Telangana HC building.
Beginning and ending with rendition of national anthem, the administration of the oath of office lasted for nearly 30 minutes with each judge separately taking oath. The Chief Minister, Chief Secretary S.K. Joshi and DGP M. Mahender Reddy along with other top officials watched the ceremony sitting in the separate enclosure.
Uttarakhand HC Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan, who served as Acting Chief Justice of erstwhile Hyderabad HC, was also present. Soon after they were sworn in, the CM and other dignitaries went up the dais and extended best wishes to the new judges.
Fire crackers were burst outside the HC building along the banks of the Musi marking the historic event of commencement of the newly constituted HC for Telangana.
For lawyers hailing from Telangana, it was a momentous occasion. Celebrating the inauguration of new HC, they raised slogans and distributed sweets.
