Justice V. Mohana Makes History as First TN Woman in SC

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Tuesday, 7 July 2026

The Madras Bar Association (MBA) felicitated Justice V. Mohana on Monday, recognizing her historic elevation as the first woman from Tamil Nadu to be directly appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of India. The event was a landmark one for the Indian judiciary, and also for the illustrious career of Justice Mohana.

Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari, presiding over the Madras High Court were present, along with other judges of the High Court, senior advocates, members of the Bar, and legal fraternity in the felicitation ceremony.

On the occasion, Justice Mohana also launched the MBA Endowment Lecture series, which is instituted in the memory of four great members of the Madras Bar namely M.K. Nambyar, V.P. Raman, R. Krishnamoorthy and M. Subramaniam for their “stainless” service to the legal profession of India.

Justice Mohana in her address spoke of the contribution of the great legal luminaries that Justice Seeta Devi Jyotsna is paying tribute to through the lecture series. She called M.K. Nambyar a constitutional visionary, whose legal arguments had provided intellectual support to the famous ‘basic structure' doctrine of the Constitution, which was later accepted by the Supreme Court to protect the ‘fundamental features' of it. She emphasized that Nambyar's career illustrated the ability of a successful trial attorney to shape the law at the highest levels.

Key Highlights:

• Historic Honour: Justice V. Mohana became the first woman from Tamil Nadu directly elevated to the Supreme Court
• Lecture Series Launched: She inaugurated the MBA Endowment Lecture Series honouring four legal stalwarts
• Legal Legacy: Justice Mohana paid tribute to the pioneers who shaped India's legal and constitutional framework

Justice Mohana also admired V.P. Raman, who was the first South Indian lawyer and the youngest Advocate General of Tamilnadu to be appointed as Additional Solicitor General of India. She noted his genius and the lasting impact he has had on the law profession.

Justice Mohana praised R. Krishnamoorthy as a "respected leader of the Bar and a gentleman lawyer" who had served as Advocate General of Tamil Nadu, during two governments, which she said was "unusually rare". The change of roles from one political regime to another has now happened in the state of Karnataka with the current Advocate General here, Vijay Narayan, replicating the same for the previous one, Vijay Goel.

She also recalled M. Subramaniam as an organized and systematic lawyer who had imparted the professional values learnt from his mentor, Govind Swaminathan to his juniors. Justice Mohana was pleased to note that Subramaniam's son Arvind Subramaniam followed the footsteps of his father and is practicing law with the Madras High court.

The event culminated with speeches by the President and MBA V.R. Kamalanathan and Secretary J. Pothiraj, congratulating Justice Mohana on her historic success and her contribution to the judiciary. Her elevation has sparked a lot of optimism for the state of Tamil Nadu and for women's presence in the Supreme Court of India, serving as a beacon of hope for future generations of lawyers and judges.