Fifteen new judges sworn in at Madras High Court

Published 9 August 2026 · local

The Madras High Court Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari on Sunday (August 9, 2026) administered the oath of office to 15 new judges. With this

The Madras High Court Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari on Sunday (August 9, 2026) administered the oath of office to 15 new judges. With this the working strength of the High Court has increased to 66 against its sanctioned strength of 75 judges. Advocate General Vijay Narayan welcomed the new judges and introduced them. While the first five out of the eight elevated from the Bar had been appointed directly as permanent judges of the High Court, the rest had been appointed as additional judges for a fixed tenure. Justice K. Govindarajan was born in Kulithalai, Karur district in March 1972 and had been practicing as a lawyer since 1994. He was the founding member and convener of Madurai Bench of Madras High Court Bar Association and served as the Deputy Solicitor General before his elevation. Justice Rajnish Pathiyil was born in New Delhi to decorated Indian Army veteran V. Muraleedharan in February 1973 and had pursued Masters in Law at the University of California. He had been practicing as a lawyer since 1997 and served as Special Public Prosecutor for the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) before his elevation. Justice N. Ramesh, a first generation lawyer, was born in 1973 and did his schooling in Vellore. He enrolled with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in 1997 and was appointed as civil judge in December 2003.

He resigned from Tamil Nadu State Judicial Service in March 2009 to return to practice. He was the Special Public Prosecutor for the ED till his elevation. Justice G.K. Muthukumaar enrolled as an advocate in 1998 and specialised in intellectual property law. He had served as Special Government Pleader. He was instrumental in obtaining geographical indication for several renowned products. Justice R. Rajesh Vivekananthan, born in Thoothukudi in 1975, studied at Madurai Government Law College. He had been practising since 1998 and had served as Deputy Solicitor General. Justice S. Raveekumar, born in December 1977, got enrolled as advocate in September 2000. He had specialised in indirect taxes as well as in civil and criminal matters before the High Court and the courts in Puducherry. He had served as a Special Government Pleader for Puducherry. Justice N. Dilip Kumar, born in March 1980, had been practising as lawyer since November 2002. He shifted his practice to the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court after its inauguration in 2004 and had extensive practice over there. Justice E. Manoharan was born in October 1978 and obtained his Master’s degree in law from the University of Singapore as a recipient of Graduate International Scholarship. He got enrolled as advocate in 2003 and was a junior to former Advocate General R.