Justice Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla

Hon’ble Thiru. Justice Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla. The learned Judge is the son of Late Thiru. Justice M. Fakkir Mohamed and was born on 23.07.1951. He hails from Karaikudi, Sivagangai District, Tamil Nadu and was enrolled as an Advocate on 20.08.1975. He was an active Labour Law Practitioner as Partner of the Lawyer’s Firm called M/s. T.S. Gopalan & Co., and appeared for various Public and Private Sector Undertakings, Nationalised and Scheduled Banks. He was the Standing Counsel for the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. On 02.03.2000, His Lordship was appointed as Permanent Judge of the Madras High Court. After assumption of office, the learned Judge has rendered very many landmark Judgments. In one case relating to election to a local body, namely, the Chennai City Corporation, sitting in a Division Bench, the learned Judge rendered a dissenting Judgment holding that the election in respect of 99 wards was liable to be set aside. The matter was referred to a third Judge and the third Judge also confirmed the view of Justice F.M.Ibrahim Kalifulla. Enthralled by the verdict of the learned Judge, there was widespread appreciation from all quarters. To quote a few, there was an article written by a retired conscientious bureaucrat of the Indian Administrative Service, which would be of worth mentioning. The said article appeared in �NEWS TODAY� dated 13.1.2007 under the caption � A MOMENT OF INFAMY FOR TAMILNADU GOVERNMENT�. It will be appropriate to quote what the author said in his article. �Through his judgment, Mr. Justice Kalifulla has given cubic content to the immortal words of Justice Felix Frankfurter: �Judges are not merely the habitations of bloodless categories of the law which pursue their pre-destined ends�. Instead of taking a sterile, bloodless and neutrally neutral view between good and evil, he has categorically declared:� He has referred to the word of caution given by the Supreme Court of India to the effect that successful candidates who had resorted to foul methods should not be allowed to reap the benefits. He has also stated that he was convinced that �there was an extreme and extraordinary situation�, which warranted an extraordinary remedy in view of the magnitude of the situation. He has concluded that it would be wholly inappropriate if fresh elections were not ordered to a majority of the wards. By his verdict setting aside the civic elections in 99 wards out of 155 wards, Mr. Justice Kalifulla has demonstrated that another great American Judge and Jurist Benjamin N Cardozo (1870-1938) was absolutely right when he stated: �The great tides and currents which engulf the rest of men, do not turn aside in their course, and pass the judges by�. Appreciating the uncompromised stand taken by the learned Judge on the Corporation Polls, the Editor of the Madras Law Journal has expressed his view in the following words, which is reported in (2007) 1 MLJ Page 1, which read as under: �Whatever be the ultimate majority opinion that might emerge, it fills us with pride that a judge obtains a special eulogical mention in the Press for what it perceives to be correct decision. Praiseful references are made in obituary columns of farewell occasions. �When they come, when the judge is still in the Bench, not merely from a lawyer, who may have an axe to grind, but from the press, it is a defining moment for the judiciary itself.� One other landmark judgment delivered by the learned Judge was relating to introduction of Vedic Astrology as a course of Scientific study in the Indian Universities which had the seal of approval of the Supreme Court. When a challenge was made in the High Court in a writ petition, the learned Judge declined to interfere with the move of the State. In the Judgment reported in 2004-4-L.W.195 (Dr.K.Natarajan, Director, Dr.K.N..Study Centre for Humanism V. The Union of India represented by its Secretary to the Human Resources Department, New Delhi and another), the learned Judge expressed his views in the following words: ��..The very purpose of imparting education is to gain knowledge and also education is stated to be the teacher of a teacher. Therefore, there should be every scope for making a study on very many subjects in order to enrich one�s craving for knowledge. Any such attempt from any quarters in furtherance of that pursuit, in my opinion should not, therefore, be stultified. ��By introducing the subject of Vedic Astrology either as a science subject or as an arts subject or under any other category, it will have to held that the same would only help the pupil to gain knowledge in that particular subject. ��When it is for the pupil concerned to select any particular field or subject in furtherance of his future career, merely because the subject has got its basic origin traceable to some cult, it cannot be held that the same would only result in propagation of a particular religion. On that footing, it cannot be held that there should be a ban on introduction of that subject as a course of scientific study.� The said view of the learned Judge was approved by the Hon�ble Supreme Court when a similar challenge came up for consideration before the Hon�ble Supreme Court. It is also reported in 2004-4 L.W.197. While approving the view of the Learned Judge, the Hon�ble Supreme Court referred in detail the point of view expressed by the Learned Judge in paragraph 16 of the judgment. Transferred to High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and assumed charge of Office on 24.02.2011. Appointed as Acting Chief Justice of High Court of Jammu and Kashmir on 07.04.2011. Took oath as Chief Justice of High Court of Jammu and Kashmir on 18.09.2011. Elevated as Judge, Supreme Court of India on 2nd April, 2012. Retired on 22nd July, 2016.