My Lord, The Hon ble The Chief Justice, The Hon ble Judges of this High Court, Hon ble former Judges of the High Court, Hon ble Mr.Justice K.Venkatraman, Hon ble Mr.Justice M.Vijayaraghavan, The Advocate General, The Chairman, Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, The President, Madras High Court Advocates Association, The President, Madras Bar Association, The President, Women Lawyers Association, The President, Law Association, Learned Senior Counsel and other Members of the Bar, Law Officers, The Registrar General and his Colleagues, Judicial Officers, Officers and Staff Members of the High Court, Family Members and Friends of all the Judges swearing in today, Press & Media, Ladies and Gentlemen, I wholeheartedly thank the learned Advocate General and the Presidents of the various Bar Associations for their kind words and wishes bestowed on me, which only show their affection towards me. I take this opportunity to thank my parents, Shri. K.S. Ponnusamy and Late Smt. Rathinammal, who are known for their simplicity and uprightness, shaped and brought me to this level. My mentor is my father, and he is present here today. He has always motivated and inspired me to face challenges in life with courage and it is his vigour
to perform well in any adverse situation, which has inspired me to travel the righteous path shown by my father. I am not fortunate enough to have my mother with me on this occasion, as I lost her 2 years back, but I am very much confident that my mother is watching all this from heaven and is showering all her blessings on me on this memorable day of my life. There is a famous saying, Maatha, Pitha, Guru, Deivam and rightly so. After our parents, it is our teachers who serve as role models, make us worthy citizens of the society and leave a lasting impression in designing our future. I thank my teachers and gurus in the profession, M/s. Late G.M. Nathan and Late I. Mehboob Sheriff, who nurtured me and finetuned my abilities. Though I am believer in the destiny, I am conscious that but for ThanthaiPeriyar and Perarignar Anna, who enjoy unparalleled credit in the social growth of this State and have inspired many people like me to serve the masses, I would not have come to this position, I having hailed from a village in a middle class agricultural family. I was never made to think about my superannuation when I have been handling the toughest job in the judiciary i.e., Registrar General of the High Court that too during one of the toughest and testing times. During my tenure as the Registrar General, I was always properly guided and nurtured by My Lord, The Honourable The Chief Justice.
Practice what you preach is always the slogan of His Lordship and I feel blessed to work with His Lordship and His Lordship has always been very affectionate and cordial and very quick and firm in taking decisions. Thank You My Lord. I wish to express my gratitude to My Lords, The Hon ble Collegium Judges of the Madras High Court and also the Hon ble Collegium Judges of the Supreme Court of India for having reposed confidence in me. The sitting Judges of the Supreme Court, Hon ble Mr. Justice F.M. Ibrahim Kalifulla, Hon ble Mr. Justice C. Nagappan, Hon ble Mr. Justice R.K.Agrawal and Hon ble Mrs. Justice R. Banumathi, and Hon ble Mr. Justice M. Yusuf Eqbal, former Judge of Supreme Court, are instrumental in selection process and I am thankful for the confidence reposed by their Lordships. During my initial days when I was apprehending about my decision to choose the profession of advocacy, my paternal aunt s son the Hon ble Mr. Justice P. Thangavel and his wife Mrs. SampoornamThangavel, came to my rescue and with their thought provoking discussions, he ensured that I join the finest seniors of the Bar M/s. Late G.M. Nathan and Late I. Mehboob Sheriff, who were influential for the upliftment in my life.
I also extend my gratitude to Hon ble Mr. Justice K.M. Natarajan and Hon ble Mr. Justice M.S.Janarthanam, for their help and guidance to me and my family. I take this opportunity to thank my sister, Mrs. Arivukodi, her husband and our Maternal Uncle Mr.K.R.Govindan, Advocate and Ex-M.L.A, and more importantly my wife K. Meenakshi, son, Er. Kaarmuhilan, daughters, Dr.Madhumidha, Er. Sanghamuhi, Son-in-law, Er. I.K. VikaramBalaji who have always been there with me more as my inspiration and pillar of strength than anything else and I don t think I could ever be able to pay back the love and affection showered on me by them. I will be failing in my duty if I don t make a mention of a new addition in our family and my close friend - my grandson who has helped me to revive the child in me when I find little time to spend with my family. During my past 33 years of judicial service, from the cadre of Judicial Second Class Magistrate to Super-time scale District Judge, I always strained every nerve to do my best, fearing only to my conscience. God Almighty has blessed me with enough patience and tolerance. The eminent lawyers of this Chartered High Court are here to guide me in discharging my divine duty.
I am confident that with the able guidance of My Lord, The Hon ble The Chief Justice, the wishes of my esteemed Senior Judges, former judges of this Hon ble High Court, eminent lawyers of this Chartered High Court and with the support and cooperation of the Bar and the staff of the Registry, I will tread this path with the dignity and honour it deserves. I thank all the members of the Bar, my friends, relatives and elders who are assembled here. I thank one and all.