Nine new judges, including three women, were
appointed to the Supreme Court on Thursday. One of these three women judges was
Justice BV Nagarathna, the judge most likely to become the first Chief Justice
of India in 2027. Justice BV Nagarathna is currently a judge in the Karnataka
High Court.

Born on October 30, 1962, Justice BV Nagarathna is
the daughter of former Chief Justice of India ES Venkataramiah. ES
Venkataramiah was the CJI for six months in 1989. Justice BV Nagarathna started
her career as a lawyer in Bengaluru where she practiced constitutional law and
commercial law.

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BV Nagarathna was appointed as an additional judge
in 2008 and was elevated to the position of a permanent judge of the Karnataka
High Court two years later. As a judge of the Karnataka High Court, Justice
Nagarathna has delivered several landmark judgements.

Her landmark judgments include one on stressing the
need to regulate electronic media. In the 2012 judgment, Justice BV Nagarathna
wrote, “While truthful dissemination of information is an essential requirement
of any broadcasting channel, sensationalism in the form of ‘Breaking News’, ‘Flash
News’ or in any other form must be curbed.

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Justice Nagarathna also urged the Union government
to set up an autonomous and statutory mechanism to regulate broadcast media.

In 2019, Justice BV Nagarathna ruled that a temple
is not a commercial establishment and its employees are not entitled to
gratuity under Payments of Gratuity Act. The judgement further said that such
employees may avail similar benefits under the Karnataka Hindu Religious
Institutions and the Charitable Endowment Act.

The other women judges appointed to the Supreme
Court are Justice Hima Kohli, Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court; and
Justice Bela Trivedi of the Gujarat High Court.