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The Registrar of the Madras High Court in a circular dated 7 July, has directed that no portraits and statues of any political leader. They have made an exception for Mahatma Gandhi and poet-saint Tiruvalluvar portraits. In doing so, it has denied permission for installing portraits of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar which many advocates’ associations have frequently sought approval for. This decision will be applicable to court complexes across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
The circular
The circular noted that the decision has been taken in accordance with various “Full Court Resolutions” dated 22 October 2008, 20 April 2011, 27 April 2013, 8 December 2013, and 11 April 2023. These resolutions mandate that “there shall be no more erection of any statute in any of the court premises, whether at the principal seat of the high court in Chennai or its Madurai Bench or in any district or taluk court subordinate to the high court.”
The April 11, 2023 resolution however made exceptions for portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and poet-saint Tiruvalluvar.
“If any deviation is found, the Principal District Judges/District Judges/Principal Judge/District Judge-cum-Chief Judicial Magistrate of the district court concerned, and the Chief Judge of Puducherry are directed to take action by giving suitable complaints to the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. The above instructions shall be followed strictly by all concerned,”
the Registrar General said.
Dalit activists and lawyers protest the move
Several lawyers, Ambedkarites and Dalit outfits have demanded to roll back this decision. A section of lawyers has also called for a protest against it on 24 July - outside the Madra High Court and district court campuses across the state. Activists also pointed out that because the decision has the backing of the Full Court, approaching the court for a remedy is not an option. They demanded that the Tamil Nadu government interfere in this issue.
In response to the move, the Neelam Cultural Centre- an anti-caste initiative by Tamil director Pa Ranjith called out the Bench as reeking of casteism. Issuing a statement, the centre said that the order reduces Dr Ambedkar’s extraordinary contributions across law, labour, political economy, women's rights, rights of Scheduled Castes, etc., and portrays him as a mere political figure.
“The removal of his photos and statues from places significant to law is an attempt to erase his legacy and work, even in the field of law and social justice, from public memory. This act by the Bench unfurls their minds being sick from casteism. While courts are meant to deliver social justice and propagate equality, it is disappointing to witness them reproducing discriminatory and exclusionary practices and institutionalisation,”
the statement by Neelam Cultural Centre
Caste and Judiciary
Another case in point is data on inclusivity in judicial appointments. In January 2023, the Union Law Ministry told the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice that 79 per cent of all High Court judges appointed in the last five years were from the upper caste (general category). The data revealed a concerning disparity in judge appointments among Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, with a meager 2.8% and 1.3% respectively, from 2018 to December 2022. The ministry also underlined that the onus for ensuring diversity on the bench is on the judiciary.
Questions and Contradictions
In August 2022, a single bench of the Madra High Court itself directed that a portrait of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar be installed at all Government Law Colleges in Tamil Nadu. Justice G.R. Swaminathan made the following observation on the case,
“Dr Ambedkar is the architect of the Indian Constitution. He is the very symbol of social liberation. His scholarship is unparalleled. He can be the greatest inspiration for every law student.”
If it is so important for students to imbibe Babasaheb’s inspiration, why must courts not adopt it?
What is worth noting here is that the April 2023 resolution of the Full Court makes for an exception for statues and portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and poet-saint Thiruvalluvar, which was absent in the previous resolutions. While it is unclear why these exceptions were made in the first place, another question arises as to why they could not make room for Babasaheb Ambedkar, the Father of the Indian Constitution.
The judiciary is endowed with the responsibility to uphold the constitutional values of equality and social justice, ideas that Babasaheb Ambedkar fought for his entire life. The latest move by the “Full Court’ of Madras High Court is worrying, to say the least.
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