Justice Beevi died at the age of 96 in Kollam, Kerala, leaving behind an outstanding career as a highly successful legal officer.
Published Nov 23, 2023 | 8:15 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 23, 2023 | 8:22 PM
Justice Fathima Beevi
To borrow from Winston Churchill, she was “a mystery wrapped inside an enigma” to many. It remained that way until Justice Fathima Beevi’s death in Kerala’s Kollam on Thursday, 23 November, aged 96.
The Kerala-born attorney, who became the first woman judge of the Supreme Court, was known to be a person of principles, as one who upheld the law. But one episode in her illustrious career would always stand out, proving to be an aberration.
It was over two decades ago, and power politics was on full display in 2001 when Tamil Nadu’s AIADMK decided to contest the Assembly polls under its supremo, J Jayalalithaa, who had been condemned for more than two years in a corruption case.
Jayalalithaa — disqualified from contesting the polls — led the AIADMK campaign from the front. Hours after the AIADMK won a simple majority of 131 seats in the 234-member Assembly, Governor Justice (Retd) M Fathima Beevi administered the oath of office and secrecy to Jayalalithaa on 14 May, 2001.
The move was unexpected and invited widespread condemnation from across the country.
One of the first files Justice Beevi had filed after taking over as the Governor of Tamil Nadu on 25 January, 1997, was to prosecute Jayalalithaa in the illegal assets case. Incidentally, after the death of Governor Dr Chenna Reddy, DMK chief M Karunanidhi had written to the Union government, urging it to appoint Justice Beevi as the Governor.
Justice Beevi was a role model for many because of her ethics, accountability, and dedication.
Since May 2001, her name has been often mentioned in debates about Governors going beyond their assigned duty of preserving, protecting, and defending the Constitution.
J Jayalithaa greets Justice Fathima Beevi
Justice Beevi justified her decision, saying she was protecting democracy — “the Will of the people” — by allowing the leader of the party that won a majority in the election to form the government. However, the development cost her dearly in her otherwise spotless public life. Several public interest litigations were filed in the Supreme Court against her decision.
Justice Beevi was forced to quit soon after Jayalalithaa ordered the pre-dawn arrest of DMK supremo M Karunanidhi, and other Opposition leaders, including Murasoli Maran and TR Baalu, presumably with the knowledge of the Governor. The then-Union Cabinet led by Atal Behari Vajpayee recommended the recall of Governor Justice Beevi.
The Union Cabinet had also chastised her for failing to provide an independent and objective assessment of the sequence of events that resulted in the arrest of Karunanidhi and others.
Due to the infractions of applicable laws, the midnight arrests drew widespread public censure. On these occasions, the Governor stood firmly behind Jayalalithaa.
While rejecting Jayalalithaa’s appointment as chief minister later, the Supreme Court was harsh on Justice Beevi.
“The Governor may not, in his or her discretion or otherwise, do anything contrary to the Constitution and the laws. As a result, the Governor must decline to exercise discretion in appointing as chief minister a non-member who was not entitled to become a member of the legislature,” the court said.
“It was unlawful for the Governor to swear in Jayalalithaa because she herself had sanctioned prosecution against the AIADMK leader after finding prima facie substance in the charges, resulting in Jayalalithaa’s disqualification from running in the elections. After all, Jayalalithaa had been condemned to more than two years in prison on corruption charges,” the verdict said.
The top court felt the Governor created a situation in which the accused herself became the prosecutor, and cases against Jayalalithaa could not be conducted fairly under Justice Beevi’s supervision.
“The Governor must accept full responsibility for the errors committed,” the court ruled.
Finally, Jayalalithaa, too, was forced to quit.
Justice Beevi also did not grant remission to those convicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. The unexpected developments in Tamil Nadu politics led to Justice Beevi’s resignation.
After her resignation, she returned to Kerala and was confined mostly to her parental house at Pathanamthitta.
She never provided a satisfactory response to the charges that she had not consulted the attorney general or the Union government before inviting Jayalalithaa to be sworn in.
Justice Fathima Beevi with M karunanidhi and KR Narayanan. (Sourced)
Justice Beevi steadfastly maintained that her conscience was clear and that she had done nothing unlawful in inviting Jayalalithaa.
Her image was a different one when she was named the Governor of Tamil Nadu.
Then, as a forthright judicial official, President Shankar Dayal Sharma praised her experience and wisdom.
The DMK praised her “clarity of vision” when she reported to the Union government that the law and order situation in Tamil Nadu was deteriorating under the AIADMK rule.
Justice Beevi was then not in Jayalalithaa’s good books. Jayalalithaa, however, changed her opinion about the Governor later.
“Justice Beevi is a former Supreme Court justice and renowned legal scholar. Nobody needs to teach her the law or the Constitution. Her decision is as per the law,” Jayalalithaa declared.
Both critics and supporters agree that Justice Beevi harboured no partisan politics and carried out her constitutional obligations without fear or favour.
Retired senior police personnel in Tamil Nadu are still baffled over Justice Beevi’s report to the Union government, backing Jayalalithaa’s police action against Karunanidhi — a report that jeopardised her credibility.
They claimed that she copied and forwarded to the Union government the Tamil Nadu Home Department’s report on Karunanidhi’s arrest.
Those who then lived in Chennai recalled that Justice Beevi led a quiet life as the Governor, rarely leaving the Raj Bhavan, unlike her predecessors.
Beevi was the oldest of seven siblings (six sisters and two brothers). She was born on 30 April, 1927, in Pathanamthitta to Annaveetil Meera Sahib and Khadeja Bibi in a traditional Muslim family.
Justice Fathima Beevi with Karunanidhi and late Congress leader GK Moopanar. (Sourced)
She completed her school education at Pathanamthitta’s Catholicate High School in 1943. She then proceeded to Thiruvananthapuram for further education.
She completed her BSc from the University College in Thiruvananthapuram (then Trivandrum) before joining the Government Law College, also in the city.
Her father, presumably inspired by the success of Anna Chandy (the first female judge in India and the first woman in India to become a high court judge), encouraged Beevi to pursue a career in law.
She took the Bar Council of India exam and won the gold medal — the first of her many historic achievements.
Beevi became a lawyer on 14 November, 1950, and began her career in Kerala’s lower judiciary. She rose through the ranks and was appointed a judge of the Kerala High Court in 1983.
On 6 October, 1986, she became India’s first female Supreme Court justice.
“I have opened the door,” she told an English news outlet. By being appointed to the Supreme Court, she opened the way for women to pursue a career in the male-dominated judiciary.
In a 2016 interview with a news magazine, she was asked if the Indian judiciary was patriarchal. “Absolutely, without a doubt,” was the response.
Despite her outspokenness regarding the societal stigma that women who practice law face, Justice Beevi had expressed concern over inadequate female representation in the judiciary, particularly in the higher courts.
“There are a lot of women on the pitch right now, at the bar and on the bench. Their involvement, however, is restricted. Their representation is unequal to that of men. There is a historical reason behind this as well. Women arrived on the pitch late. Women’s equal representation in the judiciary will take time,” she remarked.
She also mentioned the lack of gender diversity in the judiciary in another media interview.
Justice Fathima Beevi as the Governor of Tamil Nadu. (Supplied)
“It is not due to a lack of qualified women in the Supreme Court. Qualified women should be considered and appointed. That is the executive’s responsibility,” she used to say.
She also fought for women’s reservations in higher courts so that more women might join the system.
Justice Beevi served as a member of the National Human Rights Commission (1993) and as chairperson of the Kerala Commission for Backward Classes (1993).
People in Kerala who knew Justice Beevi for a long time described her as an enigma who avoided the spotlight and lived a quiet life in her hometown after retiring from Tamil Nadu.
Her photographs show her determined attitude, her head covered by the saree’s pallu, spectacles affixed on the bridge of her nose, and a matter-of-fact demeanour.
In one of the interviews, she recalled the beginning of her formal legal career on 14 November 1950.
She was then an “outcaste” in the courts. Men dominated the premises. Women, particularly those in positions of authority, were hardly seen. She was the only woman in the court, and she was the only one wearing a headscarf. Raised eyebrows strange glances and even criticism greeted her. She practiced in Kollam for nearly eight years.
Some claim that Rajiv Gandhi’s decision to appoint her to the Supreme Court over other senior judges was in response to the controversy over the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act of 1986.
Whether it is true or not, it took four decades for the Indian Supreme Court to have a woman judge. Even today, decades later, women have far less judicial representation than men.
With her appointment, she also became Asia’s first female Supreme Court judge and Asia’s first female Muslim Supreme Court justice.
