FAREWELL TO JUSTICE BOPANNA: CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA CHANDRACHUD SPEAKS IN KODAVA LANGUAGE

By P.T. Bopanna

The farewell function to mark the retirement of Justice A.S. Bopanna (in picture), Judge, Supreme Court, showed the love and affection he enjoyed in the legal fraternity.

It was a moment to cherish for me because Justice Bopanna was the Coorg Person of the Year, 2019.

It was very unusual for the erudite Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud to read out a few lines of his speech in Kodava Thak, the mother tongue of Justice Bopanna, who hails from Kodagu (Coorg) district in Karnataka.

In the normal course, a farewell function is a formal affair when it involves the Supreme Court.

But the farewell for Justice Bopanna was very unusual. Speaker after speaker highlighted the point that Justice Bopanna carried himself with lot of dignity and grace which is normally not associated in courtrooms.

Justice Ajjikuttira Bopanna was born in 1959. His father, A.N. Somaiah, a prominent politician of the erstwhile Janata Party, was an MLC a few decades ago.

The Modi government which initially tried to block the appointment of Justice Bopanna, finally cleared his name for appointment as judge after the Supreme Court collegium overruled the Union Government’s objections.

Justice Bopanna hails from a family of coffee planters. He is married to Chendrimada Monica, and they have a son and a daughter. 

His initial schooling was at St Joseph’s Convent, Madikeri, up to 5^th standard. Thereafter, he studied at St Aloysius School, Bangalore, up to 10^th standard.  He did his PUC and B. Sc., degree from St Philomena’s College, Puttur. And he graduated in Law (LLB) from Socio Legal Service and Research Centre College of Law, Bangalore. Simultaneously, he did his post graduate Diploma in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations from St Joseph’s College of Business Administration, Bengaluru.

During his college days at St Philomena’s, Puttur, he was the captain of the college cricket team and was a member of the college hockey team as well. He was also the elected general secretary of the college students Union.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

– Enrolled as an Advocate in 1984 and practiced civil, constitutional, company, service and labour matters in the High Court and in the Civil and Labour Courts.

– Worked as Legal Advisor to Central Public Sector Undertakings.

– Additional Central government standing counsel from 1999 to 2005.

– Appointed as an Additional Judge of the High Court of Karnataka in 2006.

– Became a permanent Judge in Karnataka High Court in 2007.

– Appointed as Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court in 2018.

– Elevated to Supreme Court in 2019.

Source: Coorg Role Models by P.T. Bopanna, Rolling Stone Publications, 2021.

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