Ex-SC judge V Ramaswami, first judge to face removal proceedings in independent India, passes away

Former Supreme Court judge V Ramaswami—the first judge to face removal proceedings in independent India—passed away on Saturday at his residence in Chennai following a cardiac arrest, reports said.

He was 96. He is survived by three daughters and two sons—one of whom is an advocate.

Justice Ramaswami faced a motion in the Lok Sabha in 1993 for his removal over extravagant expenditure on his official residence during his tenure as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

A committee headed by Justice Punjab Sawant of the Supreme Court – which investigated the allegations – found Justice Ramaswami guilty of 11 out of 14 charges. However, the motion failed after members of the ruling Congress and its allies abstained. He retired from service in 1994.

Five years after his retirement as a judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Ramaswami unsuccessfully contested as an ADMK candidate from Sivakasi constituency in 1999.

Born on February 15, 1929, Justice Ramaswami went to Hindu High School, Srivilliputtur in Virudhunagar district of Tamil Nadu. Later, he joined the American College, Madurai for his bachelor’s degree and then went on to obtain an LL.B. degree from Madras Law College.

He got enrolled as a lawyer on July 13, 1953. He was appointed as an Additional Government Pleader in 1962 and as a State Public Prosecutor in 1969. He was elevated as a judge of the Madras High Court in 1971. He was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 1987 and was elevated to the Supreme Court in 1989.