Justice CT Ravikumar : A Bench Clerk's Son Who Rose To Become A Supreme Court Judge

Justice CT Ravikumar, who has been elevated to the Supreme Court from the Kerala High Court, comes from humble origins.

In a farewell reference organized by the Kerala High Court, Justice Ravikumar remembered his father who was a bench clerk at a Judicial First Class Magistrate Court. He became tearful while talking about his late parents. "Blessings from their heavenly abode takes me to this position", he said in a quavering voice, choked with emotions.

"At this moment of happiness I prostate with the memories of my parents, father late Sri K Devan, who was a Bench Clerk in Judicial first Class Magistrate Court, Changanassery, mother late Smt. Saraswathy and also my late elder sister, late Smt. Radhamani, whose blessings from the heavenly abode takes me to this position. I offer my pranamam to the almighty for blessing me with love,"

"There is no short cut in this profession which is exciting, exacting and at the same time one that is offering exaltation", Justice Ravikumar said in his farewell speech as an advice to the junior members of the bar. 

Justice Ravikumar was appointed as a judge of the High Court in 2009. He had started practice in 1986 at Mavelikkara. Later, he joined the chambers of former Advocate General Senior Advocate M K Damodaran, a doyen of the bar. He has also served as a government pleader.

Called as "CTR" among legal circles, Justice Ravikumar,  the second senior judge of the High Court, has handled all major jurisdictions - writ petitions, service disputes, criminal matters, civil appeals, motor accident compensation, family law, preventive detention, Dewasvom issues etc. Members of the bar agree that Justice Ravikumar has a firm grasp of precedents and statutory provisions, and is rarely misled on points of law.

In 2014, Justice Ravikumar created headlines when he recused from hearing a batch of petitions related to bar license, saying that a lawyer connected with the case tried to influence him.

A notable decision given by Justice Ravikumar held that the State liable for road accidents as it is collecting road tax.  Last year, a bench led by him upheld the single bench direction for CBI investigation into the politically sensitive "Periya twin murder case". A division bench led by him also directed the State Government to increase the daily cap for pilgrims for Sabarimala pilgrimage, after observing that the restrictions are arbitrary. He was also part of the full bench which directed that police should avoid unnecessary arrests during the lockdown.

Justice Ravikumar highlighted the importance of speedy trial while allowing the splitting of trial against an accused in the SNC Lavlin case. "Law is long but life is short", his judgment commented about the convoluted processes of criminal trial.

"Right to life means right to live with full human dignity, without humiliation and deprivation or degradation of any sort. There can be no doubt that the tag of 'accused' would deprive a man the right to live with full human dignity. The right to speedy trial is also a human right and no civilized society can deny the same to an accused. Furthermore, it should always be the concern of the society to see that a real culprit is given the  punishment at the earliest and also to see that an accused is given an early opportunity to clear the cloud of suspicion shrouded around him and to remove the tag of 'accused'. The said purpose in view that is founded on social interest could not be achieved if trial is unduly delayed as trial is the sole device to decide the guilt or innocence of an accused.... Nobody can dispute the position that Courts have a duty to proceed criminal cases with a reasonable pace", Justice Ravikumar observed in the said case (Sidhartha Menon P v. DySP Chennai).

Some other notable judgments :

Additional District Judge competent to hear appeal under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act(read here)

Process under Order 1 Rule 8 CPC not mandatory at appellate stage. This was held answering a reference in view of conflicting judgments (read here)

Political leaning not a bar to hold the post of non-hereditary temple trustee : In this judgment, Justice Ravikumar observed that hardly anyone is apolitical in Kerala since it is a politically sensitive state.

Delay not a sole ground to quash disciplinary proceedings (read here).

PSC cannot reject applications which became incomplete due to technical glitches in its official website (read here).

In the farewell reference today, Advocate General K Gopalakrishna Kurup said that the judgments pronounced by Justice Ravikumar are "testimonials of his absolute faith in the rule of law and compassion for the lesser privileged".

Advocate Thomas Abraham, President of the Kerala High Court Advocates' Association, lauded the leadership offered by Justice Ravikumar in the Kerala Legal Services Authority.

Chief Justice S Manikumar said that Justice Ravikumar has rendered several landmark judgements not confined to any branch of law. "Justice Ravikumar is the 5th judge of the Kerala High Court to be elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court without occupying the position of Chief Justice of a High Court", the Chief Justice said.

The Chief Justice also applauded the efforts taken by Justice Ravikumar as the President of the Kerala Judicial Academy,  President of Kerala State Mediation and Conciliation Centre and Executive Chairman of the Kerala State Legal Services Authority.

"Anaylzing the efforts of brother Justice Ravikumar in various capacities, I have no hesitation to say that he has the ability to foresee the future of the institutions. During his tenure, the committees have reached the poor and the marginalized to ensure access to justice for all", the CJ said.

At the Supreme Court, Justice Ravikumar will have a term till January 6, 2025.

(With inputs from Hannah Mary Varghese).