Arham Jain
Justice Veeraswami Ramaswami, a former Supreme Court judge, passed away on Saturday morning at the age of 96 at his Chennai home after suffering a severe heart arrest.
Due to accusations of financial mismanagement and abuse of power while serving as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Ramaswami became the first Supreme Court judge in India to be impeached in 1991.
Evidence of inappropriate expenses on his official apartment was discovered by a parliamentary committee. An impeachment resolution was presented in the Lok Sabha in 1993 and was approved by a two-thirds majority of the MPs who cast ballots. Nevertheless, the proposal failed when Congress MPs abstained. The case established a precedent for judicial responsibility in India’s judicial history, even if he was not dismissed.
Justice Ramaswami was born on February 15, 1929. After completing his elementary schooling at Hindu High School in Srivilliputtur, he went on to American College in Madurai to pursue his bachelor’s degree. After that, he attended Law College in Madras to earn his LL.B.
On July 13, 1953, he became an advocate of the Madras High Court, practicing criminal and civil law in both original and appellate jurisdictions. On January 31, 1971, he was named a permanent judge of the Madras High Court. As his legal career developed, he was promoted to Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on November 12, 1987, after being moved from the Madras High Court.
On October 6, 1989, Justice Ramaswami was appointed to the Supreme Court of India, where he remained until his retirement on February 14, 1994.