Fatima Beevi
Encyclopedia
Justice M. Fathima Beevi was the first woman judge to be appointed to the Supreme Court of India
(1989) and the first Muslim
woman to be appointed to any higher judiciary. She is the first woman judge of a Supreme Court of a nation in India and Asia. On her retirement from the court she served as a member of the National Human Rights Commission and as Governor
in Tamil Nadu
(1997–2001).
, Kerala
state, India
as the child of Meera Sahib and Khadeeja Bibi.
and degree B.Sc. at University College, Trivandrum. She obtained her B.L. from Government Law College, Trivandrum.
. She was appointed as the Munsiff in the Kerala Sub-ordinate Judicial Services in May, 1958. She was promoted as the Sub-ordinate Judge in 1968 and as the Chief Judicial Magistrate in 1972, as District & Sessions Judge in 1974.
She was further appointed as the Judicial Member of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal in January, 1980. She was then elevated to the High Court as a Judge on 4 August 1983.
She became permanent Judge of the High Court on 14 May 1984. She retired as the Judge of the High Court on 29 April 1989 but was further elevated to the Supreme Court as a Judge on 6 October 1989 where she retired on 29 April 1992.
Her appointment to the Supreme Court over several senior judges was seen as a political decision by Rajiv Gandhi
following the controversy over the Muslim Women's (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act.
She later went on to become Governor of Tamil Nadu on 25 January 1997. Appointing her as the Governor of the TN and Justice S S Kang, formerly chief justice of Jammu and Kashmir high court, as Governor of Kerala, then President of India, Shankar Dayal Sharma
said "Their experience of and insights into the working of the Constitution and the laws comprise valuable assets."
As the Governor of the state, she rejected the mercy petitions filed by the four condemned prisoners in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.The prisoners had sent the mercy petitions to the Governor, pleading her to exercise her power under Article 161 of the Constitution (the Governor's power to grant pardon).
She was embroiled in controversy when she gave a clean chit to the law and order situation in Tamil Nadu
that prompted the ire of the Central government
. The Minister for Law, Arun Jaitley
asked for her resignation. Later she left her office as Governor of the state under controversial circumstances of her accepting of Jayalalithaa's of assembly majority after the elections and over the arrest of Karunanidhi, who pitched for her appointment four years ago. Jayalalitha defended the state Governor Justice Fathima M Beevi's decision to invite her to form the government saying that the Governor's decision could not be questioned. She said that "She is a former supreme court judge. She herself is a legal expert. Nobody need teach her about law or the constitution. Her decision is not justiciable."
Jayalalitha's party had received the simple majority (131 seats out of total 234 seats in the Tamilnadu Assembly) after elections in May 2001.Fathima Beevi, the then Governor of Tamilnadu administered the oath of office to J Jayalalitha as the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu on 14 May 2001 in spite of the fact that Jayalalitha can not contest the election and would not be able to get herself elected by the people to the assembly within six months as per the constitution. There were a few Public Interest Litigations (PIL) filed in the Supreme Court questioning the validity of her appointment as the Chief Minister
of Tamilnadu. Fathima Beevi justified her decision by saying that the majority party in the state assembly had elected Jayalalitha as their leader.
Fathima Beevi submitted her resignation after the Union Cabinet decided to recommend to the President to recall the Governor for having failed to discharge her constitutional obligation. The Centre was peeved with Ms Fathima Beevi for not having furnished an independent and objective assessment of the sequence of events after the arrest of the former Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi, and the two Union Ministers, Murasoli Maran
and T. R. Baalu. The Centre had accused her of toeing the official line verbatim. The then Andhra Pradesh
Governor, Dr C. Rangarajan, took charge as the acting Governor of Tamil Nadu, following her resignation.
Subsequently, the Supreme Court of India overturned her appointment of Jayalalithaa as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Referring to the case, the Court Bench ruled that "The Governor cannot, in the exercise of his/her discretion or otherwise, do anything that is contrary to the Constitution and the laws. Therefore, the Governor, having due regard to the Constitution and the laws, must decline to exercise the discretion in appointing as Chief Minister a non-member who was not qualified to become a member of the legislature."
As the Governor of the state she had also served as the Chancellor of Madras University. It was reported by university sources that the Vice-Chancellor,P.T. Manoharan, had decided to quit his office in the wake of the Chancellor allegedly withholding her approval to the Syndicate’s decision to establish a new department for contemporary Tamil literature. She had also served as the Chairman of Kerala Commission for Backward Classes(1993) and member of National Human Rights Commission ( 1993). She received Hon. D Litt and Mahila Shiromani Award in 1990. She was also awarded Bharat Jyoti Award.
The left parties also discussed the nomination of the prospects of Fathima Beevi as the President of India, during which the NDA Government proposed the name of Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam.
She currently resides at her ancestral home in Pathanamthitta, Kerala.
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...
(1989) and the first Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
woman to be appointed to any higher judiciary. She is the first woman judge of a Supreme Court of a nation in India and Asia. On her retirement from the court she served as a member of the National Human Rights Commission and as Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
(1997–2001).
Early life
Fathima Beevi was born on 30 April 1927 at PathanamthittaPathanamthitta
Pathanamthitta is a large town and a municipality situated in the central Travancore region in the state of Kerala, south India, spread over an area of 23.50 km2. It is the administrative capital of Pathanamthitta district. The city has a population of 38,000...
, Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
state, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
as the child of Meera Sahib and Khadeeja Bibi.
Education
She did her schooling in Catholicate High School, PathanamthittaPathanamthitta
Pathanamthitta is a large town and a municipality situated in the central Travancore region in the state of Kerala, south India, spread over an area of 23.50 km2. It is the administrative capital of Pathanamthitta district. The city has a population of 38,000...
and degree B.Sc. at University College, Trivandrum. She obtained her B.L. from Government Law College, Trivandrum.
Career
She was enrolled as Advocate on 14 November 1950. She began her career in the lower judiciary in KeralaKerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
. She was appointed as the Munsiff in the Kerala Sub-ordinate Judicial Services in May, 1958. She was promoted as the Sub-ordinate Judge in 1968 and as the Chief Judicial Magistrate in 1972, as District & Sessions Judge in 1974.
She was further appointed as the Judicial Member of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal in January, 1980. She was then elevated to the High Court as a Judge on 4 August 1983.
She became permanent Judge of the High Court on 14 May 1984. She retired as the Judge of the High Court on 29 April 1989 but was further elevated to the Supreme Court as a Judge on 6 October 1989 where she retired on 29 April 1992.
Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Ratna Gandhi was the sixth Prime Minister of India . He took office after his mother's assassination on 31 October 1984; he himself was assassinated on 21 May 1991. He became the youngest Prime Minister of India when he took office at the age of 40.Rajiv Gandhi was the elder son of Indira...
following the controversy over the Muslim Women's (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act.
She later went on to become Governor of Tamil Nadu on 25 January 1997. Appointing her as the Governor of the TN and Justice S S Kang, formerly chief justice of Jammu and Kashmir high court, as Governor of Kerala, then President of India, Shankar Dayal Sharma
Shankar Dayal Sharma
Shankar Dayal Sharma was the ninth President of India serving from 1992 to 1997. Prior to his presidency, Dr Sharma had been the eighth Vice President of India, serving under President Ramaswamy Venkataraman...
said "Their experience of and insights into the working of the Constitution and the laws comprise valuable assets."
As the Governor of the state, she rejected the mercy petitions filed by the four condemned prisoners in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.The prisoners had sent the mercy petitions to the Governor, pleading her to exercise her power under Article 161 of the Constitution (the Governor's power to grant pardon).
She was embroiled in controversy when she gave a clean chit to the law and order situation in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
that prompted the ire of the Central government
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
. The Minister for Law, Arun Jaitley
Arun Jaitley
Arun Jaitley is a prominent Indian politician and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party , which is currently the largest Opposition party in India...
asked for her resignation. Later she left her office as Governor of the state under controversial circumstances of her accepting of Jayalalithaa's of assembly majority after the elections and over the arrest of Karunanidhi, who pitched for her appointment four years ago. Jayalalitha defended the state Governor Justice Fathima M Beevi's decision to invite her to form the government saying that the Governor's decision could not be questioned. She said that "She is a former supreme court judge. She herself is a legal expert. Nobody need teach her about law or the constitution. Her decision is not justiciable."
Jayalalitha's party had received the simple majority (131 seats out of total 234 seats in the Tamilnadu Assembly) after elections in May 2001.Fathima Beevi, the then Governor of Tamilnadu administered the oath of office to J Jayalalitha as the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu on 14 May 2001 in spite of the fact that Jayalalitha can not contest the election and would not be able to get herself elected by the people to the assembly within six months as per the constitution. There were a few Public Interest Litigations (PIL) filed in the Supreme Court questioning the validity of her appointment as the Chief Minister
Chief Minister
A Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, provinces of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a British Overseas Territory that has attained self-government...
of Tamilnadu. Fathima Beevi justified her decision by saying that the majority party in the state assembly had elected Jayalalitha as their leader.
Fathima Beevi submitted her resignation after the Union Cabinet decided to recommend to the President to recall the Governor for having failed to discharge her constitutional obligation. The Centre was peeved with Ms Fathima Beevi for not having furnished an independent and objective assessment of the sequence of events after the arrest of the former Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi, and the two Union Ministers, Murasoli Maran
Murasoli Maran
Murasoli Maran was a prominent Tamil politician in India, and an important leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party which is headed by his maternal uncle and mentor, M. Karunanidhi. A Member of Parliament for 36 years, he was made a Union Minister in three separate central governments, in...
and T. R. Baalu. The Centre had accused her of toeing the official line verbatim. The then Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
Governor, Dr C. Rangarajan, took charge as the acting Governor of Tamil Nadu, following her resignation.
Subsequently, the Supreme Court of India overturned her appointment of Jayalalithaa as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Referring to the case, the Court Bench ruled that "The Governor cannot, in the exercise of his/her discretion or otherwise, do anything that is contrary to the Constitution and the laws. Therefore, the Governor, having due regard to the Constitution and the laws, must decline to exercise the discretion in appointing as Chief Minister a non-member who was not qualified to become a member of the legislature."
As the Governor of the state she had also served as the Chancellor of Madras University. It was reported by university sources that the Vice-Chancellor,P.T. Manoharan, had decided to quit his office in the wake of the Chancellor allegedly withholding her approval to the Syndicate’s decision to establish a new department for contemporary Tamil literature. She had also served as the Chairman of Kerala Commission for Backward Classes(1993) and member of National Human Rights Commission ( 1993). She received Hon. D Litt and Mahila Shiromani Award in 1990. She was also awarded Bharat Jyoti Award.
The left parties also discussed the nomination of the prospects of Fathima Beevi as the President of India, during which the NDA Government proposed the name of Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam.
She currently resides at her ancestral home in Pathanamthitta, Kerala.