After the Madras High Court issued a circular to all the courts in the state to display only the portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and Thiruvalluvar inside the court premises, protests erupted from various quarters condemning the court’s decision to disallow the portraits of Dr BR Ambedkar. Following this, Chief Justice of Madras HC Sanjay Vijaykumar Gangapurwala has said that the status quo will be maintained, which means that Ambedkar’s portraits will continue to be displayed in court premises.
According to a press release from the state government, the Chief Justice assured the Tamil Nadu law minister S Regupathy on the matter. The Minister had met the CJ on Monday, after there was news that portraits of Dr BR Ambedkar would be removed from within the court premises. While Minister Regupathy said that the portraits of Ambedkar should not be removed, the CJ had clarified that there has not been any orders to remove the existing portraits and the current status quo would be maintained.
In a circular dated July 7, the Madras HC registry reiterated that multiple decisions have been taken with regard to placement of portraits in the courts, by the full court of the HC. The court was responding to representations received from many advocates’ associations seeking to open the portraits of Dr BR Ambedkar and other senior advocates of the concerned bar associations. The circular said that only the portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and Thiruvalluvar should be placed inside the court premises.
Political leaders, including Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) Thol Thirumavalavan, Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) state secretary K Balakrishnan, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president K Annamalai, reacted to the circular and appealed to the CJ to revoke the circular. The leaders pointed out the immense contributions of Ambedkar to the Indian Constitution and legal system.