Devan Ramachandran
Hon'ble Justice Devan Ramachandran | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Judge of Kerala High Court | |
| Assumed office 5 October 2016 | |
| Nominated by | T. S. Thakur |
| Appointed by | Pranab Mukherjee |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 March 1968 Cochin, Ernakulam, Kerala, India |
| Citizenship | Indian |
| Nationality |  India |
| Spouse | Sukanya Devan |
| Alma mater | Government Law College, Ernakulam |
| Website | High Court of Kerala |
Devan Ramachandran (born 19 March 1968) is an Indian judge who is presently serving as a judge of Kerala High Court.[1][2][3] The High Court of Kerala is the highest court of Judicature for the State of Kerala and Union Territory of Lakshadweep.
Early life and education
[edit]Devan Ramachandran did his schooling at Bhavans Vidya Mandir, Ernakulam. He then studied at Sacred Heart College, Kochi, and graduated in law from Government Law College, Ernakulam.
Career
[edit]He started practice as an advocate in March 1991, under the guidance of his father, Senior Advocate Mr. M.P.R. Nair, Barrister-at-Law (Middle Temple- London). He practiced in various branches of law, including constitutional, corporate, financial and civil.
The Kerala High Court had engaged Sri Devan Justice Ramachandran, at the young age of 33, to be its counsel; and he also served as standing counsel for the CBSE, various private and public companies, many banking and financial institutions, including the Indian Banks' Association, the principal financial advisory mechanism to Reserve Bank of India.
Achievements
[edit]He was designated as a 'Senior Advocate' by the High Court of Kerala, in 2015.
The High Court of Kerala had also appointed Justice Devan, while he was a Counsel, to assist as an Amicus Curiae (friend of court) in a socially charged suo motu Public Interest Litigation pertaining to the illegal trafficking of children from North India to Kerala.[4]
The Indian Express recognised Justice Devan Ramachandran as a newsmaker in 2019 for his judgments that impacted public life.[5]
Notable cases
[edit]To rid roads and public spaces of Kerala from the annoying unauthorised flex boards, flags, festoons etc., the Single Bench of Justice Devan propounded the principles of "Visual pollution" and "destination aesthetics" in a recent judgment.[6][7]
Under the principle of "continuing Mandamus" Justice Devan's Court has been monitoring the condition of roads in Kerala and against flooding in the city of Kochi (Cochin) during monsoons.[8][9][10][11][12]
Division Bench of Justices Devan Ramachandran and M B Snehalatha has emphatically declared that a woman or girl cannot be judged by the dress they wear.[13][14]
Justice Devan sentenced a police officer to imprisonment for having misbehaved with a citizen.[15] In an earlier judgment, the same Court had declared the use of disrespectful and abusive vocatives by Police like "eda", "nee" etc. against citizens to be "relics of the colonial subjugatory tactics and hence unconstitutional.[16][17] The State Police Chief then issued a circular to officers not to use such words to address citizens.[18][19]
Pushing for full bodily autonomy for women, especially as regards reproductive rights, the Judge declared that for every girl and woman "her body is her right."[20]
Allowing the plea of young girl students challenging the "curfew" imposed on them to leave and enter their hostels, Justice Ramachandran held that "no gate, no lock, no bolt, can set upon the freedom of the kind of a girl".[21][22]
In a move for Kerala as an investor friendly destination, Justice Ramachandran declared illegal the long continuing ill practice of Trade Unions to extort money as gawking charges (called "nokkukooli" in Malayalam).[23][24][25]
In 2020, Justice Ramachandran, sitting with Justice Ravi, directed the Government to anonymise the Covid 19 data before it is handed over to Sprinklr ( a foreign company) for processing. The Columbia University Journal has hailed this order to be "extra ordinary" from the angle of data protection.[26]
Protecting environment and ecology, banned the use of plastics at the Sabarimala Hills and shrine, including in the "irumudikettu", the traditional offering carried by pilgrims.[27][28] Government of Kerala then banned single-use plastics in state.[29]
References
[edit]- ^ Appointment order
- ^ "Justice Devan Ramachandran". highcourtofkerala.nic.in. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ^ "High Court to get two new judges". The Hindu. 21 September 2016. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ^ "Children from Bengal, Bihar being trafficked to keep Kerala charity homes running: Police to HC". The Indian Express. 1 August 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ^ "Anjali Ameer to VK Prasanth; The changemakers who made headlines in Kerala". The New Indian Express. 25 December 2019. Archived from the original on 22 June 2020.
- ^ "Kerala HC directive to take stringent action against illegal flex boards". The New Indian Express. 14 March 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
- ^ "No more illegal boards or banners; FIRs to be filed against violators". Keralakaumudi Daily. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
- ^ "Kerala High Court slams State for poor condition of roads". The Hindu. 1 October 2024. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
- ^ Jolly, Tellmy (1 October 2024). "Potholes On Roads: Kerala High Court Orally Warns Of Action Against Municipal Secretaries, District Collectors If Repairs Aren't Made". www.livelaw.in. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
- ^ Thomas, Praisy (23 May 2025). "Kerala High Court slams NHAI over NH-66 road collapse due to rains". Bar and Bench - Indian Legal news. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
- ^ "Flooding of city: High Court warns of action against Kochi Corporation's assistant engineers". The Hindu. 30 May 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
- ^ "District collector alone cannot resolve waterlogging issue in Kochi: HC". Mathrubhumi. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
- ^ Isac, Manju Elsa (13 December 2024). "Clothing Is Form Of Self-Expression, Courts Should Not Morally Police Women Based On Their Clothes: Kerala High Court". www.livelaw.in. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ "Judging women based on clothes shows 'misogynistic prejudice': Kerala HC". The New Indian Express. 13 December 2024. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ Thomas, Praisy (4 September 2024). "Kerala High Court orders two months' jail for Alathur SI who verbally abused lawyer". Bar and Bench - Indian Legal news. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
- ^ "Remind cops to treat public with respect, High Court directs Kerala police chief - The New Indian Express". www.newindianexpress.com. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
- ^ "No 'eda poda': Kerala High Court asks police to be polite while interacting with public". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
- ^ "Stop using 'eda', 'edi', DGP tells Kerala Police". OnManorama. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
- ^ "Kerala cops told not to use 'edi or eda' to public, on HC direction". The News Minute. 11 September 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
- ^ "HC nod for MTP for woman citing divorce proceedings". The Times of India. 2 March 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ "Lock troublemakers, why control just women: HC on Calicut medical college hostel curfew". www.onmanorama.com. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- ^ "Kerala HC stresses on value-based education in schools". English.Mathrubhumi. 24 February 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- ^ Varghese, Hannah M. (4 September 2021). "Tarnishes State's Reputation: Kerala High Court Urges Complete Abolition Of Gawking Wages In The State". www.livelaw.in. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
- ^ "Nokkukooli: HC asks Kerala govt to outline its plans to end menace". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
- ^ 'കേരളത്തില് നിന്ന് തുടച്ച് നീക്കണം', നോക്കുകൂലിക്കെതിരെ ഹൈക്കോടതി. Asianet News Network (in Malayalam). Retrieved 17 September 2021.
- ^ "Balu Gopalakrishnan v. State of Kerala and Ors".
- ^ "HC imposes total ban on plastic in Sabarimala". The Hindu. 23 July 2018.
- ^ "All Forms of Plastic, Including Plastic Articles Carried by Devotees in "Irumudikkettu', Banned in Sabarimala: Kerala HC [ Read Order]". 25 July 2018.
- ^ "Kerala govt bans single use plastic from January one". The Economic Times.