Judge at Madras High Court
NAME – M. Karpaga Vinayagam
PROFESSION– Judge
BORN – 16th May 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH – Devakottai, Tamil Nadu, India
FATHER’S NAME – N/A
MOTHER’S NAME – N/A
SPOUSE – Padmini of Nagapattlnam
SIBLINGS – N/A
CHILDREN – Arun and Sathya
EDUCATION – B.A in Economics from Alagappa University, L.L.B degree from Madras Law College
AWARDS – N/A
Mr. Karpaga Vinaygam was a judge at the Madras High Court, who specialised in Criminal law.
SPECIALISATION – Criminal Law
COMMITTEE/PANEL HEADED– N/A
BACKGROUND – He was born in 1946 to a family of a legal background.
EDUCATION – M. Karpaga went on to get a degree in B.A Economics from Alagappa University in the year 1969 and then a LLB degree from Madras Law College in 1972.
WALK OF LIFE AS JURIST/ JUDGE– M. Karpaga started his legal life in 1972 when he got enrolled as an advocate in the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu. Within the next few years, he was appointed as the government advocate in the criminal side in the High Court of Madras. In this position he represented the government in many sensational cases over the period of 7 years.
He also set up his own office for a practice of criminal law and was also nominated as an editor for the Law Time Journal, “Current Criminal Reports”, New Delhi. Along with this, he also started the Lawyers Literacy Society where he conducted meetings and seminars. He started this society due to his interest and love for the Tamil Language. In his long legal career, he was also appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Madras and later as the Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court, Ranchi.
CAREER TIMELINE –
1972- Enrolled as an advocate in the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu.
1977- Appointed as the government advocate in the criminal side in the High Court of Madras and appeared in many sensational cases for around 7 years.
1984- Set up his own practice in Criminal Law and was praised my many famous judges and judgements of the Madras High Court.
1993- Nominated to be the Editor for the Law Journal, “Current Criminal Reports”, New Delhi. His interest in the Tamil Language also led to him starting the Lawyers Literacy Society.
1994- M. Karpaga was invited by the International Institute of Tamil Studies to npresent papers on the topic of Criminal Law in the Ancient Period.
1996- He was elevated to the position of Judge in the High Court of Judicature in Madras.
2006- He was elevated to the position of the Chief Justice of Jharkhand in the High Court of Ranchi.
LAND MARK JUDGEMENTS –
Annamalai vs State, 26 March 1997-
Annamalai was tried and convicted for the offences under Section 302, Indian Penal Code (IPC), 25(1)(c), 25(1b) (a) of Indian Arms Act and 9B(1)(b) of Indian Explosives Act, 1984, and was sentenced to undergo life imprisonment for the offence under Section 302 of IPC and rigorous imprisonment for 3 years for the offence under Indian Arms Act as well as rigorous imprisonment for 2 years for the offence under the Indian Explosives Act by First Additional Sessions Judge, Salem. The appellant was aggrieved by this judgement and had filed an appeal to the High Court. After an exhaustive trial, the High Court of Madras declared that due to absence of the medical evidence from the side of the respondents, the appellant, Annamalai will not be punishable on the offence under Section 302 IPC and is convicted for the offence under Section 304 Part I IPC and will be
sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for ten years
CONTROVERSIES – N/A
REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENT– N/A