The appointment of Kumari Justice Sanju Panda as the acting chief justice of Orissa High Court is not just historic but also validation of an illustrious career
In what is being seen as a shining example of women empowerment, President Ram Nath Kovind recently appointed Kumari Justice Sanju Panda as the acting chief justice of Orissa High Court. Her appointment followed the retirement of Justice Kalpesh Satyendra Jhaveri. Justice Panda is the first woman to adorn the high office, her elevation being based on her seniority.
Born in Parlakhemundi on July 10, 1959, she enrolled as an advocate in Orissa High Court in 1985. Her father, Late Gourhari Panda, was a district judge. Elevated as a judge of the High Court on March 1, 2007 she has 21 years of experience in Service, Civil, Criminal, Company and Constitutional matters. She started her practice in the High Court of Orissa under guidance of her father, conducted cases on behalf of State as Additional Standing Counsel from 1994 to 1995, Standing Counsel for Vigilance (Special Court) in High Court from 1995 to 1996, Additional Standing Counsel for Commercial Tax from 2001 to 2003, Counsel for State Bank of India, Utkal University and other public sector undertakings and Corporations.
An avid reader, she was appointed to the top post on January 5. An indefatigable campaigner for access to justice, she is the executive chairperson of Orissa State Legal Services Authority, a statutory body under a Central Legislation called “Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987”.
The Authority monitors and guides the District Legal Services Authorities and Taluk Legal Services Committees in achieving the aims and objectives of the Act. There are 30 District Legal Services Authorities in the State of Odisha and 81 Taluk Legal Services Committees functioning under them.
The general public who need any legal aid can directly contact the concerned Taluk Legal Services Committee or District Legal Services Authority, the High Court Legal Services Committee and the State Legal Services Authority, as the case may be, for their legal needs. Thus, under her able guidance the authority has been rendering yeoman’s service to the cause of justice.
Humane and compassionate, Justice Panda has delivered judgements in some extremely important cases. In one of these cases she as part of a two-member bench had awarded monthly compensation to the aged parents of a custodial death victim in 2009. The case had gone to the court following the death of a convict named Krushna Chandra Behera in Chowdwar circle jail. The bench including Justice Kumari Sanju Panda held that the death of convict in custody was a result of negligence on the part of authorities and directed the state government to pay a monthly amount of Rs.3000 to the parents of Behera for maintenance.
Justice Panda has always been laying extra emphasis on transparency and speedy delivery of services to the poor and the underprivileged. According to reports in a section of the media during a visit to Dhenkanal a few months ago, she underscored the need for speed in delivery of services for the poor and said that they should get information about their entitlements as per law. Addressing the NLSA mega legal services camp there, she said that many people were harassed and deprived of justice and that there was need for administration to sensitize them and address their issues.
Justice Panda laid particular stress on empathy for the poor, protection of child rights, right to education, life and livelihood of the poor and transparency in government-sponsored benefits for the poor. She emphasized the importance of conducting legal awareness camps from village to state level and making tribal people aware of their entitlements.
Justice Panda was once again in focus in 2009 when Orissa High Court issued notices to the CBI, the state government and the Centre asking them to file counters in a PIL on alleged multi-crore mining scam in Keonjhar district. Adjudicating on the PIL filed by a Berhampur-based activist, Subrat Chandra Tripathy, the two-member bench of the High Court of which she was a part issued the notices.
The PIL said the vigilance enquiry ordered into the alleged scam will not reach a logical conclusion and appealed to the court to order a CBI probe into illegal mining leases to manganese mines in the district. The issue had then attracted the attention of entire state.
An eminent jurist, Kumari Justice Sanju Panda has had an illustrious career as a lawyer and a judge. When she was elevated as a judge of the High Court in 2007 she was only the second woman after Justice Mrs Amiya Kumari Padhi to achieve that distinction. She is certain to scale greater heights and set many more examples for others to follow in the days to come. Women in particular can draw inspiration from her life and brilliant career.
Reacting to her appointment as the acting chief justice of the High Court, president of High Court Bar Association, Gopal Krushna Mohanty, said members of the legal fraternity were happy that she had become the first woman to assume the high office, and they wished her the very best.
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