Justice SV Gangapurwala, the 52nd Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, retired from service on Thursday.
During his one-year tenure as Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, CJ Gangapurwala disposed of over 14,000 cases and delivered several significant judgments, including one upholding the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act, 2022.
In a judgment issued in November 2023, the bench led by Chief Justice Gangapurwala declined to strike down the Online Games Act entirely. Instead, it ruled that the prohibition would only apply to games of chance, not to games of skill such as rummy and poker.
Under his leadership, the High Court streamlined the hearings and disposal of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petitions by preparing a separate cause list for PILs and resolving old PILs that had been pending for a long time or had become irrelevant.
When the Supreme Court left the decision to him on who would hear six suo motu revision petitions against sitting and former Ministers, CJ Gangapurwala decided that Justice Anand Venkatesh, who initiated the suo motu action, would continue hearing the cases.
At his farewell function organized by the judges of the Madras High Court and Tamil Nadu Advocate General PS Raman, CJ Gangapurwala expressed his gratitude for his time at the Madras High Court.
“I felt at home immediately among all judges and members of the Bar. I had the privilege of hearing excellent arguments from both senior and junior members of the Bar, which inspired me to work long hours even beyond the regular court hours,” CJ Gangapurwala said.
He also commended the young lawyers of the Madras Bar and expressed confidence in their ability to uphold the court’s legacy.
“They are some of the most talented lawyers I have encountered, and I am sure they will carry forward the legacy of this Court. Hard work and conscience should always guide them,” CJ Gangapurwala added.
Advocate General PS Raman praised CJ Gangapurwala, comparing him to the Chola king Raja Raja Cholan and mentioning that throughout his judicial career, he disposed of a total of 99,949 cases.
“I learned about these statistics only yesterday. If I had known earlier, the Bar members would have ensured that Your Lordship disposed of 51 more cases to reach the impressive six-figure mark,” Raman joked.
CJ Gangapurwala began his legal practice in 1985 in Aurangabad. He was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court in 2010 and served as the Acting Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court in 2022. On May 29 last year, he assumed the role of Chief Justice of the Madras High Court.
Following CJ Gangapurwala’s retirement, Justice R Mahadevan, the senior-most puisne judge of the Madras High Court, will serve as the Acting Chief Justice of the Court.
