T. Meena Kumari (born 1951) is a retired high court judge of India.[1] She was the first Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court.[2] She previously served as the judge of Andhra Pradesh High Court and Patna High Court.[3]

T. Meena Kumari
Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court
In office
23 March 2013 – 3 August 2013
Nominated byCollegium of Supreme Court of India
Appointed byPresident Pranab Mukherjee
Preceded byOffice created
Succeeded byPrafulla Chandra Pant
Personal details
Born (1951-08-03) 3 August 1951 (age 73)
Yalamanchili, Visakhapatnam district, Andhra Pradesh

On her appointment as first Chief Justice of Meghalaya in 2013, she said her first priority would be to set up Fast-Track Courts in the state, as well as to understand the problems of the region and deal with pending cases.[4] However, she was only in post for five months. After her retirement as Meghalaya Chief Justice in August 2013, she was appointed Chairperson of the Tamil Nadu State Human Rights Commission in December 2014.[5] The post had been vacant since 2011.[6]

Whilst serving as a judge in the Andhra Pradesh High Court, she was involved in the case of T. Muralidhar Rao vs State of Andhra Pradesh 2010 as a member of the seven judge bench. The case dealt with religion-based reservations, specifically relating to reservations for backward class Muslims. While agreeing with the majority view, which struck down the quota, Justice T. Meena Kumari articulated a separate judgement.[7][8]

She completed her law degree from Osmania University, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. She is the granddaughter of late violinist Padmashree Venkateswamy Naidu.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Chief Justice retires". Telegraphindia.com. 4 August 2013. Archived from the original on 21 January 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  2. ^ PTI (23 March 2013). "Meena Kumari sworn in as first chief justice of Meghalaya HC". The Hindu. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  3. ^ "Hon'ble Justice Smt. T. Meena Kumari :: Patna High Court". Patnahighcourt.bih.nic.in. Archived from the original on 5 January 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  4. ^ Times, Meghalaya (23 March 2013). "Meena Kumari sworn in as first Chief Justice of Meghalaya". meghalayatimes.info. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  5. ^ Hindu, The (1 December 2014). "Justice Meenakumari is rights panel chief". The Hindu. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  6. ^ Hindu, The (17 November 2014). "After 3 years, rights panel gets chairperson". The Hindu. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  7. ^ Reddy, K. Vivek (15 February 2010). "Reserving judgment". Indian Express. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  8. ^ Kannabiran, Kalpana (2013). Tools of Justice: Non-discrimination and the Indian Constitution. Routledge. p. 286. ISBN 9780415523103.
  9. ^ "AP's Meena Kumari is Meghalaya's CJ". Deccan Chronicle. 21 March 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2017.