Fathima Beevi facts for kids
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Fathima Beevi
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| 11th Governor of Tamil Nadu | |
| In office 25 January 1997 – 3 July 2001 |
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| Chief Minister | M. Karunanidhi J. Jayalalithaa |
| Preceded by | Krishan Kant (Additional Charge) |
| Succeeded by | Dr. C. Rangarajan (Additional Charge) |
| Member of National Human Rights Commission of India | |
| In office 1993–1997 |
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| Judge of the Supreme Court of India | |
| In office 6 October 1989 – 29 April 1992 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 30 April 1927 Pathanamthitta, Travancore, India (present day Kerala, India) |
| Died | 23 November 2023 (aged 96) Kollam, Kerala, India |
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M. Fathima Beevi (30 April 1927 – 23 November 2023) was an Indian judge who was a justice of the Supreme Court of India. Appointed to the apex Court in 1989, she became the first female judge to be a part of the Supreme Court of India, and the first Muslim woman to be appointed to any of the higher judiciaries in the country. On her retirement from the court, she served as a member of the National Human Rights Commission and later as the Governor of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu from 1997 to 2001. In 2023, she was honoured with Kerala Prabha Award, the second-highest honour given by the Government of Kerala.
Early life and education
M. Fathima Beevi was born on 30 April 1927 at Pathanamthitta in the Kingdom of Travancore, now in the Indian state of Kerala, as the daughter of Annaveettil Meer Sahib and Khadeeja Beevi into the Rowther Family.
Beevi attended Town school and Catholicate High School, Pathanamthitta and got her BSc in chemistry from women's college, Thiruvananthapuram. She obtained her L.B. from Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram.
Career
Beevi was enrolled as Advocate on 14 November 1950. She topped the Bar Council exam in 1950. She began her career in the lower judiciary in Kerala. She was appointed the Munsiff in the Kerala Sub-ordinate Judicial Services in May 1958. She was promoted as the Sub-ordinate Judge in 1968 and as the Chief Judicial Magistrate in 1972, as District & Sessions Judge in 1974.
In January 1980, Beevi was appointed the Judicial Member of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. She was then elevated to the High Court as a Judge on 4 August 1983.
Beevi became permanent Judge of the High Court on 14 May 1984. She retired as the Judge of the High Court on 29 April 1989 but was further elevated to the Supreme Court as a Judge on 6 October 1989 where she retired on 29 April 1992.
Governor of Tamil Nadu
Beevi later went on to become the Governor of Tamil Nadu on 25 January 1997. Appointing her as the Governor of Tamil Nadu and Justice Sukhdev Singh Kang, former Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court, as Governor of Kerala, the then President of India, Shankar Dayal Sharma said "Their experience of and insights into the working of the Constitution and the laws comprise valuable assets."
As the Governor of the state, she rejected the mercy petitions filed by the four condemned prisoners in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. The prisoners had sent the mercy petitions to the Governor, pleading for her to exercise her power under Article 161 of the Constitution (the Governor's power to grant pardon).
Other duties
As the Governor of the state she had also served as the Chancellor of Madras University. It was reported by university sources that the Vice-Chancellor, P.T. Manoharan, had decided to quit his office in the wake of the Chancellor allegedly withholding her approval to the Syndicate's decision to establish a new department for contemporary Tamil literature. She had also served as the Chairman of Kerala Commission for Backward Classes (1993) and member of National Human Rights Commission (1993). She received Hon. D. Litt. and Mahila Shiromani Award in 1990. She was also awarded Bharat Jyoti Award.
The left parties also discussed the nomination of the prospects of Fathima Beevi as the President of India, during which the NDA Government proposed the name of Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam.
Death
Fathima Beevi died on 23 November 2023, at the age of 96.
See also
- Anna Chandy
