Late SC judge Justice Fathima M. Beevi, also the first woman to become a judge of the SC , was awarded Padma Bhushan (Posthumously)

Last Updated on January 29, 2024 by News Desk

Justice M. Fathima Beevi, the first woman to become the judge of the Supreme Court of India, was awarded the Padma Bhushan award, posthumously on Thursday.

The third highest civilian award has been given in the field of public affairs.

Justice Fathima Beevi, passed away, in November last year at the age of 96, she was also the first Muslim woman to be appointed to the higher judiciary in the country

Justice Beevi was born in Kerala and was encouraged by her father to study law. in 1950 she became the topper of the Bar Council exam and became the first woman to receive the Bar Council gold medal.

Her career began as an advocate in Kerala and she became the district ad sessions judge in the year 1974.  In 1980 she joined the ITAT and in 1983 she became the high court judge.

In 1989, she made history by becoming the first woman to be appointed as a judge in the Supreme Court. She also became the first Muslim woman to join the higher judiciary as well as the first woman judge in Asia.

She retired in the year 1993 and served on the NHRC. Later she became the governor of Tamil Nadu.