1

Reference touching the demise of Mr. Justice S.B. Sinha, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India, Mr. Justice B. Subhashan Reddy, Former Chief Justice, Madras & Kerala High Courts and Mr. Justice K. Shanmukham, Former Judge,

June 18, 2019

We have assembled here to mourn the sad demise of Mr. Justice

S.B. Sinha, a former Judge of the Supreme Court of India; Mr. Justice

B.Subhashan Reddy, former Chief Justice of the Madras and Kerala

High Courts; and Mr. Justice K. Shanmukham, a former Judge of the

Madras High Court.

Justice SATYA BRATA SINHA was born on 8th August, 1944 at

Dhanbad in the present day State of Jharkhand.

Justice Sinha passed his Matriculation Examination from H.E.

School, Dhanbad and received his Bachelor of Law Degree from

Chhota Nagpur Law College in 1967. He started his judicial career by joining the Dhanbad District Court in 1968, after which he shifted his practice to Ranchi, upon constitution of the Permanent Bench of the

Patna High Court in the year 1976. He was designated as a Senior

Advocate by the and subsequently appointed as the first Government Advocate of the Ranchi Bench of the Patna High

Court. He was elevated to the Bench of Patna High Court on 9th March, 2

1987. He was later transferred to the on

11.5.1994, where he served as Acting Chief Justice from 18.5.1999 to

4.12.1999. He was subsequently appointed as Chief Justice of the

Andhra Pradesh High Court on 11.12.2000 and later transferred to the

Delhi High Court on 26.11.2001 and served there till 2.10.2002.

On 3.10.2002, Justice Sinha was elevated as a Judge of the

Supreme Court of India. During his tenure at the Apex Court, he rendered several landmark judgments on substantial points in several branches of law. During his tenure at the Apex Court, he delivered a mammoth 2202 judgments, and held a distinction of sorts by rendering

19 dissenting judgments, which is the maximum number in the history of Supreme Court! Justice Sinha termed dissent as to mean the existence of democracy. He believed that for good ideas to be continually tested and reaffirmed, it is imperative that all ideas, especially contrarian ones, should be aired. He retired on 8.8.2009.

As Judge, Justice Sinha was highly regarded & widely respected for his legal acumen with a scholarly bent of mind, and his affable and humble persona. He was known to be a man of very few words. But he spoke verbosely through his judgments, arbitration awards, and legal opinions. He had a profound sense of work ethic and remained a workaholic, dedicated to his work till the very last. 3

Justice Sinha had a child like curiosity and remained ever humble. It is owing to this humility that even at the age of 74, despite having been at the pinnacle of legal profession, he still used to consider himself to be a student of law. He used to say that the more he learnt, the more he realized that there was so much more still to learn.

After retirement, Justice Sinha was appointed as Chairman of the

Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal on 3.11.2009 and served for three years until the end of 2012. Post-retirement from

Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal, he was a much sought after arbitrator in several commercial matters involving high stakes. He adjudicated and passed awards in over 60 arbitration matters. He was kept so busy that even at the time of his demise, there were nearly 40 arbitration matters pending at various stages of proceedings.

After battling illness for a brief period, Justice Sinha died on 19th

March, 2019 at the age of 74 in New Delhi.

He is survived by his wife, Smti. Utpala Sinha, two sons and a daughter. His sons, Mr. Abhijeet Sinha and Indrajit Sinha are Advocates practising in the Delhi and Jharkhand High Courts respectively. His daughter Ms. Navanita is working for UNICEF and is based at

Kathmandu, Nepal. 4

With the passing away of Justice Sinha, the legal fraternity has lost a stellar jurist who has contributed immensely to the development of law in the country.

......

Today, we also mourn the sudden and sad demise of Justice

B.Subhashan Reddy, a former Chief Justice of the Madras and Kerala

High Courts.

Justice B. SUBHASHAN REDDY was born on 2nd March, 1943 in a philanthrophic ‘Bollampalli’ family of Bagh Amberpet in

Urban Taluk of the present day . His father, Shri. B. Aga

Reddy rendered distinguished service as Examiner of Accounts in Jagir

Administration in erstwhile .

He had his school education in Sultan Bazar and Chadarghat High

Schools, Hyderabad; college education in New Science College; and obtained Degree in Science from the College of

Science. In his school and college days, he exhibited keen interest in games and sports, and was proficient in football and hockey. He later studied Law in the University College of Law, Osmania University and was enrolled as Advocate on 10th January, 1966.

As Advocate, even from the very beginning, he was on his own, having had no opportunity to be groomed or guided by reputed seniors.

Despite this shortcoming, he made a mark of his own and slowly but 5

steadily developed extensive practice covering all branches of law, in particular Constitution, Civil, Criminal, Revenue, Taxation etc. and appeared on the Original and Appellate Sides before various forums of law, be it the Supreme Court of India, the High Court or the Civil,

Criminal and Small Causes Courts, Tenancy & Rent Control Tribunals,

Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal etc.

His outstanding merit as a lawyer saw him being elevated as a

Judge of the High Court on 25th November, 1991, at a time when he was at the peak of his profession. As a Judge, Justice

Reddy was known for rendering speedy justice and had created a record of sorts by disposing of over 25,000 cases during his ten year tenure in that High Court. He also served as Executive Chairman of the

Andhra Pradesh State Legal Services Authority, Chairman of the High

Court Legal Services Committee and President of the State Judicial

Academy.

On 12th September, 2001, Justice Subhashan Reddy was elevated as the 39th Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, its 20th Indian Chief

Justice. He was the second Chief Justice from the State of Andhra

Pradesh, after Justice P. Chandra Reddy.

In his tenure spanning a little over three years at the Madras High

Court, Justice Reddy rendered some landmark judgments, in particular matters relating to the scope of Article 131 of the Constitution, 6

appointment of employees in Co-operative Societies without reference to qualification or cadre strength and others.

During his tenure, the Madras High Court witnessed hectic activity. He was of the view that for the efficient performance of the judiciary, infrastructural facilities were of paramount importance. It was during his tenure that on 24th July, 2004, the Madurai Bench of the

Madras High Court was established, to cater to the long felt need of the litigants in Southern Tamil Nadu.

He also persuaded the Government to release large amounts of funds for construction of several other court buildings for the subordinate judiciary. It was during his tenure that the State Legal

Services Authority and the State Judicial Academy got their own buildings. It was he who conceived the idea of establishing Permanent and Continuous Lok Adalats in all districts, with separate Lok Adalats constituted for cases involving Motor Accident claims, Matrimonial matters, labour matters and a host of other such specialised class of cases. He also mooted Prison Adalats, which saw a reduction in the population of under-trial prisoners in the State.

On 21st November, 2004, Justice Subhashan Reddy was transferred to the as its Chief Justice. 7

He was so involved in developing and creating infrastructure for the subordinate judiciary of this State that he lamented leaving quite a few projects relating to the subordinate judiciary midway.

On the Bench, I am told that he was generally disinclined to dismiss any matter at the admission stage and liked to go into the merits of each case, which was a boon for private practitioners.

Though he could quickly grasp the scope and ambit of the case, he would still hear the lawyers patiently and he would never expose the lawyers’ lack of case preparation. With his constant efforts and encouragement, he ensured that Madras High Court topped the list in the matter of disposal of cases.

After a short stint of 101 days at the Kerala High Court, Justice

Subhashan Reddy retired on 2nd March, 2005.

Post retirement, Justice Reddy served the Andhra Pradesh State

Human Rights Commission as its first ever Chairman. He also served as the Lokayukta of Andhra Pradesh between 2012 and 2017.

Justice Subhashan Reddy was in love with Music and Literature, both ancient and modern. He had particular liking for the works of eminent Telugu Poet, “Sri Sri”. He had a cherished collection of recordings of veterans of the past like K.L. Saigal and Pankaj Kumar

Mallik of North, and Ghantasala of South. 8

After a brief illness and hospitalization, Justice Subhashan Reddy breathed his last on 1st May, 2019.

He is survived by his wife, Smt. Rathna Reddy and three sons, of whom two are practising Advocates in the , while the youngest son is a Software Engineer. All of them are settled with their families and children at Hyderabad.

......

Today, we also mourn the sad demise of Justice K. Shanmukham, a former Judge of the Madras High Court.

Mr. Justice K. SHANMUKHAM graduated from the reputed

Pachayappa’s College in 1946 and obtained Law Degree from the Law

College in 1948. He enrolled himself as an Advocate in Independent

India in August, 1949 and commenced practice in the chambers of Late

Sri. K. Rajah Iyer, one of the doyens of the Madras Bar. He subsequently joined the office of Late Sri. K. Srinivasan, with whom he continued until 1962. Having worked in the offices of two illustrious members of the Bar, Justice Shanmukham acquired the finer aspects of advocacy.

Justice Shanmukham commanded extensive and lucrative practice covering all facets of law, more particularly on the Original

Side. He was always on the move – from one court to another, and from one building to another, for he had varied work – and did not mind 9

physical activity. As an advocate, he was known for his thorough preparedness of cases, and in the Court, he was very persuasive, persistant and persevering. There was never an occasion for him as a counsel to have asked for an adjournment on the ground of his not being ready with the case. Such was the reputation he had built as a counsel.

After 23 years of standing at the Bar, Justice Shanmukham was elevated to the Bench on 25.1.1979. He sat singly and in Benches and dealt with different cases in different branches of law. His ability to quickly understand and appreciate the delicate points of law made it a delight for any counsel to argue before him. Basically a trial lawyer, as a Judge, he had no difficulty in coming to grips while dealing with other types of work like appeals and writs. There was no delay on his part to deliver judgments even in complicated cases. His judgments reveal his deep and thorough analysis of all the points argued in the cases heard by him. His ability to dispose of his work quickly and without dragging the feet was an enviable habit assiduously cultivated by him from the early days of his practice as a lawyer, which paid him rich dividends, both while in the Bar and on the Bench.

Justice Shanmukham was considerate to the members of the Bar, especially to the Junior members, and no one ever saw him frowning. 10

He always stayed calm, fresh and alert, with a smiling, yet firm looking face and demeanour.

I understand that Justice Shanmukham was also a good cricketer, used to score runs and was a good runner between the wickets. This quality of his kept him fit as a fiddle even at the time of laying down office on completing 62 years in 1986.

Justice Shanmukham believed that the Bench and the Bar are inseparable and indispensable partners in the joint venture of administration of justice and that unless there is continued mutual trust and confidence, as also utmost co-operation and co-ordination between the two, it will not be possible to timely deliver justice to the litigant public.

While replying to the farewell address extended to him, Justice

Shanmukham said that each one of us should discharge our duties with sincerity, with the firm faith that we shall have our return destined to us.

It is this awareness that would keep us away from the evils that haunt the society, viz. egoism, greed and hatred. He observed that his

Dharma required him to discharge his duties with due devotion, unmindful of the return. Quoting Saint Thiruvalluvar, he remarked,

“If your thoughts show signs of turning from the path of rectitude, know ye that misfortune awaits you”.

11

After retirement, Justice Shanmukham practised in the Supreme

Court of India as a Senior Advocate.

On account of the good reputation he enjoyed, Justice

Shanmukham was entrusted with quite a few offices. He was Chairman of the Managing Committee of the Madras Society for the Protection of

Children and also Chairman of the Re-constituted Tamil Nadu

Backward Classes Commission (1995).

Justice Shanmukham was also fond of writing and had penned down a few books on a variety of subjects on law, such as Limitation

Act, Sale of Goods Act, Transfer of Property Act; Law of Defamation &

Malicious Prosecution and Law of Land Acquisition & Compensation.

Justice Shanmukham reached Heaven’s abode on 5.4.2019. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Kuppulakshmi, two daughters, who are both

Doctors by profession, and also four sons, of whom two are Engineers, settled in the U.S., while one is a Doctor specialising in Nephrology and another is a Chartered Accountant. I am told that Justice Shanmukham was hale and healthy, and very active till his very last breath, and had rarely visited a hospital for any ailment. He breathed his last at his home on 5.4.2019, at the age of 94.

We convey our heartfelt condolences to the family members of late Justice S.B. Sinha, Justice Subhashan Reddy and Justice

K.Shanmukham. 12

We pray to the Almighty to rest the noble souls in peace and give their family members the strength to cope up with the loss as acceptance of God’s will.

As a mark of respect to the departed souls, we shall observe silence for two minutes.

–– S I L E N C E ––

In honour of the departed souls, there will be no Court sitting for the rest of the day.

Registry is directed to send copies of this Reference to the bereaved families.

    