The Hindu : Karnataka News : Birth centenary of former judge on Sunday

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Karnataka

Birth centenary of former judge on Sunday

Staff Reporter

P.T. Raman Nair

PALAKKAD: The birth centenary of P.T. Raman Nair, former High Court judge, will be celebrated on Sunday in various parts of the country.

He was the first and the last Indian Civil Services judge of the Kerala High Court, where he started his career in 1957 and retired as Chief Justice in 1972. Raman Nair died in 2003.

Vikram Ramakrishnan, Central government counsel in Chennai, told The Hindu that the former judge never reserved his judgments and immediately after the arguments were over, he used to pronounce it in the open court.

One of his judgments upheld the vital provisions of the Kerala Land Reforms Act brought out by the Communist government that assumed power after the reorganisation of the State.

T.P. Kelu Nambiar, lawyer, said, “I consider the judgment on [the collapse of] the Pala Central Bank as the greatest of the Kerala High Court. If this judgment is forgotten, a precious possession will be lost. Justice Nair has rendered authoritative and great judgments in all branches of law — civil, criminal, personal, constitutional, administrative, company, banking, taxation and the rest. This is unique, indeed; yet to be achieved by any other; and this amazes me no end.”

Raman Nair in an interview to The Hindu on January 14, 2000, had said that the most difficult case in his career was the Mariakutty case in which Fr. Benedict was accused of having killed her.

“The media had given detailed reports, like an eyewitness account, on how the priest had killed a young beautiful girl of his parish. With the ‘anti-Christian judge’ on the chair, it was feared that Fr. Benedict’s death sentence was sure, but he was acquitted.” he said.

Refroms

Many of the reforms introduced in the Kerala judiciary could be traced to his initiative.

After retirement, he did not take up any assignment for he believed that a man of jury should not take up any government assignment after retirement.

On one or two occasions, he declined government offers to head inquiry commissions.

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