Pugalendhi sworn in, number of High Court judges rises to 60

His appointment for a two-year term was notified by the Centre last week, following a Supreme Court Collegium resolution.

Justice Pugalendhi obtained his law degree from the Government Law College, Pondicherry. He enrolled in 1990 and practiced in trial Courts until 1993. In 1993, he joined the office of Justice (Retd.) S Rajeswaran, then the standing counsel for the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. Justice Pugalendhi focused his practice on the criminal side until 2011, when he was appointed Special Government Pleader. He argued a batch of cases concerning granite mining during this period.

In 2016, Justice Pugalendhi was appointed an Additional Advocate General at the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court. During his career, Justice Pugalendhi has also appeared before the Supreme Court, various High Courts and consumer forums. He has also compiled a handbook on criminal law and Indian Penal Code. He has also written short stories and articles about the murder cases he has conducted during his career as a lawyer.

Following felicitation by representatives of the Madras High Courts Advocates Association (MHAA), the Madras Bar Association (MBA), the Women’s Lawyers’ Association (WLA) and the Law Association, Justice Pugalendhi, on thanking all the judges who had endorsed his elevation said, “I feel real meaning to my life. I will use every moment judiciously and meaningfully.” 

Earlier, Advocate General Vijay Narayan, on welcoming the gathering, said during Pugalendhi’s tenure as SGP, the government did not lose a single case in this batch and that he was instrumental in winning 372 such cases.

It may be noted that once Justice Vineet Kothari, who has been transferred to Madras High Court as the second senior-most judge of the Court, the working strength will increase to 61 judges.