Hyderabad: Former Chief Justice of the Kerala and Madras High Courts, Justice B. Subhashan Reddy passed away on Wednesday after a prolonged illness.
He had being undergoing treatment at the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology in Gachibowli for the last one month. He was 76.
He is survived by his wife and three sons, two of whom are lawyers. His funeral was held at the Mahaprasthanam in Jubilee Hills.
Justice Subhashan Reddy has served the judiciary for four decades and was held in great esteem in the profession.
Justice Reddy initially wanted to become a doctor but became a lawyer to fulfil his grandfather’s dream and started his practice as an advocate on January 10, 1966 after obtaining an LLB degree.
He was appointed judge of the erstwhile AP High Court on November 25, 1991 and then elevated as Chief Justice of the Madras High Court on September 12, 2001 and thereafter, transferred to the Kerala High Court on November 21, 2004. He retired on March 2, 2005.
As a judge of the erstwhile AP High Court, he authored more than half a dozen judgements of the full bench in cases related to matrimonial issues, industrial disputes, forest laws, service matters and others. In his judgement in a matrimonial case, he held that the word ‘impotency’ can be attributed to both husband and wife in deciding the dissolution of marriage.
Justice Reddy was popularly known as the poor man’s advocate having practised in the mandal court and then all the way to the high courts of the country. He commanded a huge practice in the combined state of Andhra Pradesh.
He was known to do justice to people without harping upon technicalities. His human approach made him a popular judge not only among advocates, but also among the people.
He delivered voluminous judgements as Chief Justice of the Madras and Kerala High Courts.
Justice Subhashan Reddy was instrumental in imposing the speed limit on the Tank Bund in Hyderabad. As AP Lok Ayukta, he was moved by the death of a girl in an accident on the Tank Bund.
With initiation of Justice Reddy, the Marriage Registration became an Act in the country.
Justice Reddy was the first chairperson of the AP State Human Rights Commission in 2005 and Lok Ayukta in 2012.
Telangana state Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N. Chandrababu Naidu, Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, YSR Congress president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and other prominent personalities, including High Court judges, condoled Justice Reddy’s demise.
Judges of the High Courts of both the Telugu states and a host of political leaders and advocates have expressed their grief over the demise of the legal luminary and offered condolences to the bereaved family.
Mr Rao visited Justice Reddy’s residence in Avantinagar and ordered that the last rites be conducted with state honours. Accordingly, the funeral was held at the Mahaprasthanam in Jubilee Hills on Wednesday afternoon.
