K Gopalakrishna Kurup, the senior advocate and advocate general for Kerala, recently expressed his surprise that S Manikumar, the chief justice of the Kerala High Court, had not been elevated to the Supreme Court despite his distinguished career on the bench and in the bar.
The Advocate General (AG) emphasized that the Chief Justice had more than two decades of experience as a lawyer before being elevated to the Bench, having at times represented the Central government, State government, and even the Madras High Court itself. The Chief Justice spent 13 years as a judge of the Madras High Court, which is a chartered high court.
“Your lordship had put in nearly 13 years as the judge of a chartered High Court. Your lordships came to the bench with vast experience of more than 2 decades of successful practice in a chartered High Court during which period your lordship was the law officer of the Union and State govt as well as other institutions including the Madras High Court. Your lordship has put in nearly 4 years as CJ of this High Court. Your lordships judicial years have been spent only for dispensation of justice which your lordship did as satisfactorily as possible. I find no reason whatsoever for not elevating your lordship to the Apex court. I leave it at that for the loss of the Supreme court was Kerala’s gain,” AG Kurup remarked.
The AG was speaking at a full court event honoring the Chief Justice, who will step down from his position on April 24. The farewell event was held on Thursday, as the same falls during the High Court’s upcoming vacation.
In his remarks, AG Kurup also discussed Justice Manikumar’s accomplishments since he was appointed Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court in 2019.
He was especially grateful for the Chief Justice’s leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, locdowns, and restrictions that started just a few months after he assumed office, as well as his support for various e-initiatives.
“The challenges of conducting courts through covid times were first met through virtual hearing with the aid of proprietary video telephonic software programs. Then a unique court management system, the first of its kind in this country, was developed. This CMS caters to the entire process from e filing to issuance of certified copies. Your lordship certainly can demit office with the satisfaction of having led the greatest revolutionary change in the history of this honourable court. Your lordship revolutionised the functioning of the district judiciary also by taking e-initiatives there,” AG Kurup remarked.
In their respective speeches, Justice SV Bhatti and advocate S Biju, President of the Kerala High Court Advocates’ Association, also emphasized the CJ’s accomplishments.
Justice Bhatti also stated that other High Courts are now adopting the same module that the Kerala High Court did under the direction of Chief Justice Manikumar.
“History is replete with replication of the module of the Kerala HC by a few other HCs and the credit goes to your lordship. It is worthwhile to place on record India Justice Report 2022. The report acknowledges that Kerala HC tops the chart in the case clearance rate at 156% as against the all India average of 95%”, Justice Bhatti stated.
At the end of his speech, AG Kurup expressed his gratitude to his wife, his children and to his father, retired judge of the Madras High Court, Justice Swamidurai.
