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{{short description|Judge of Supreme Court of India}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Bangalore Venkataramiah Nagarathna
| office = [[Judge]] of [[Supreme Court of India]]
| termstart = 31 August 2021
| termend =
| appointer = [[Ram Nath Kovind]]
| nominator = [[N. V. Ramana]]
| office1 = [[Judge]] of [[Karnataka High Court]]
| termstart1 = 18 February 2008
| termend1 = 30 August 2021
| appointer1 = [[Pratibha Patil]]
| nominator1 = [[K. G. Balakrishnan]]
| birth_place = [[Pandavapura]], [[Mandya district]], [[Karnataka]]<ref> https://www.deccanherald.com/state/top-karnataka-stories/b-v-nagarathna-the-new-supreme-court-judge-with-roots-in-mandya-village-1023838.html </ref>
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1962|10|30|df=y}}
| honorific_prefix = [[The Honourable]] [[Justice]]
| father = [[Engalaguppe Seetharamiah Venkataramiah]]
| spouse = Gopala Krishna
| alma_mater = [[Faculty of Law, University of Delhi]]
| image = File:Justice B. V. Nagarathna.png
}}

'''Bangalore Venkataramiah Nagarathna''' (born 30 October 1962) is a [[Judge]] of [[Supreme Court of India]]. She served as a judge of the [[Karnataka High Court]] from 2008 to 2021.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Hon'ble Mrs. Justice B.V.Nagarathna|url=https://karnatakajudiciary.kar.nic.in/bio_data/sitting_judges/bvnj.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=Karnataka High Court}}</ref> She is the daughter of former Chief Justice of India, [[E.S. Venkataramiah]].

She gained public attention in 2009 after being forcibly detained within the Karnataka High Court premises by a group of protesting lawyers.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Hunasavadi|first=Srikanth|date=2009-11-10|title=Karnataka CJ, two judges attacked in court|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report-karnataka-cj-two-judges-attacked-in-court-1309527|access-date=2020-11-06|website=DNA India|language=en}}</ref> She has delivered a number of significant judgments relating to commercial and constitutional law in Karnataka.

== Life and Education ==
Nagarathna's father, [[E.S. Venkataramiah]], was the 19th [[Chief Justice of India]]. He was appointed on 19 June 1989 and served until his retirement on 17 December 1989.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Chhibber|first=Maneesh|date=2020-05-29|title=SC collegium willing, this Karnataka judge could become first woman Chief Justice of India|url=https://theprint.in/judiciary/sc-collegium-willing-this-karnataka-judge-could-become-first-woman-chief-justice-of-india/431265/|access-date=2020-11-06|website=ThePrint|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-could-get-1st-woman-cji-in-justice-nagarathna-in-6-yrs/articleshow/85445007.cms | title=India could get 1st woman CJI in Justice Nagarathna in 6 yrs | publisher=[[The Times of India]] | date=19 August 2021 | accessdate=19 August 2021 | author=Dhananjay Mahapatra}}</ref>

She studied law at Campus Law Center, [[Faculty of Law, University of Delhi|Faculty of Law]], [[Delhi University|University of Delhi]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Rajagopal|first=Krishnadas|date=2021-08-28|title=B.V. Nagarathna {{!}} Beyond the glass ceiling|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/bv-nagarathna-beyond-the-glass-ceiling/article36156989.ece|access-date=2021-08-29|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

== Career ==
She enrolled with the Bar Council of Karnataka in 1987 and practiced constitutional and commercial law in Bangalore before being appointed as an additional judge of the Karnataka High Court in 2008.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=Supreme Court Collegium may clear way for country's first woman CJI|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/thesundaystandard/2020/jul/19/supreme-court-collegium-may-clear-way-for-countrys-first-woman-cji-2171645.html|access-date=2020-11-06|website=The New Indian Express}}</ref> She was appointed as a permanent judge on 17 February 2010.<ref name=":0" /> She is expected to retire on 29 October 2024, after reaching the retirement age for High Court judges.<ref name=":2" />

In May 2020, B.V. Nagarathna was reported as being considered for appointment to the Supreme Court of India, leading a number of commentators to note that this would make her eligible to become the female first Chief Justice of the Indian Supreme Court. <ref>{{Cite news|last=Singh|first=Ajmer|title=Legal fraternity speculates on a woman CJI in future|work=The Economic Times|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/legal-fraternity-speculates-on-a-woman-cji-in-future/articleshow/75876758.cms?from=mdr|access-date=2020-11-06}}</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

On 26 August 2021, she was appointed as a [[Judge]] of [[Supreme Court of India]] and took oath on 31 August 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-08-27|title=Nine new judges appointed to SC, total strength moves up to 33|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/sc-gets-nine-judges-3-women-justice-nagarathna-first-woman-cji-in-2027-7472088/|access-date=2021-08-29|website=The Indian Express|language=en}}</ref> She is in line to become first woman [[Chief Justice of India]] in year 2027.

== Notable Judgments and Opinions ==

=== Sensationalist News ===
In 2012, along with another judge, she ordered the federal government to examine the possibility of regulating broadcast media in India, noting the rise of fake news. In a concurring opinion, she also warned against the risks of allowing government control over broadcast media, calling for a statutory framework that would allow self-regulation by the broadcast industry.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Staff Reporter|date=2012-05-16|title=Work out modalities for regulation of broadcast media, Centre told|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/work-out-modalities-for-regulation-of-broadcast-media-centre-told/article3426079.ece|access-date=2020-11-06|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

=== Vehicle Taxation ===
In 2016, she ruled along with another judge that the Karnataka government could not require owners of vehicles bought outside the state to pay a "lifetime tax" in order to use their vehicles in Karnataka, holding the policy to be unconstitutional.<ref>{{Cite news|others=Special Correspondent|date=2016-07-02|title=State loses battle over lifetime tax on vehicles registered outside Karnataka|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/State-loses-battle-over-lifetime-tax-on-vehicles-registered-outside-Karnataka/article14466763.ece|access-date=2020-11-06|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

=== Non-Commercial Status of temples ===
In 2019, along with two other judges, she ruled that temples were not commercial institutions and accordingly, that provisions of labour laws relating to the payment of gratuities did not apply to temple employees.<ref>{{Cite news|others=Special Correspondent|date=2019-08-02|title=Temples not commercial establishments: HC|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/temples-not-commercial-establishments-hc/article28799005.ece|access-date=2020-11-06|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

=== Autonomy of private institutions ===
On 15 September 2020, she and another judge upheld a contested government policy to ensure the standardization of admissions into both, public and private colleges in Karnataka, citing the COVID-19 pandemic in India as a reason to limit the autonomy of private institutions.<ref>{{Cite news|others=Special Correspondent|date=2020-09-15|title=Govt. fiat to universities on method to promote intermediate semester students upheld|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/govt-fiat-to-universities-on-method-to-promote-intermediate-semester-students-upheld/article32604948.ece|access-date=2020-11-06|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

=== Detention by Lawyers ===
In 2009, she and another judge, [[Venkate Gopala Gowda]], were unlawfully detained, along with the then-Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, [[P. D. Dinakaran|P.D. Dinakaran]], by a group of protesting lawyers in the Karnataka High Court. The incident occurred following the declaration of a boycott of courts by lawyers' association, who were protesting following allegations of corruption against [[P. D. Dinakaran|P.D. Dinakaran]]. They were later released by the protesting lawyers.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=PTI|date=9 November 2009|title=Dinakaran case: Chaos in Karnataka HC, 2 judges locked up|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Dinakaran-case-Chaos-in-Karnataka-HC-2-judges-locked-up/articleshow/5211508.cms|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-11-06|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|author=Staff Reporter|date=2009-11-09|title=Karnataka advocates disrupt proceedings|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/Karnataka-advocates-disrupt-proceedings/article16891162.ece|access-date=2020-11-06|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> Following the incident, Nagarathna made a public statement, saying, “We cannot be cowed down like this. We have taken the oath of Constitution.”<ref>{{Cite web|date=2009-11-10|title=We can't be cowed down, asserts Judge|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/content/35172/we-cant-cowed-down-asserts.html|access-date=2020-11-06|website=Deccan Herald|language=en}}</ref>

=== Status of Education during the Pandemic ===
She was part of the bench that rejected the Karnataka government's proposal to halt mid-day meals in COVID-affected areas. The bench also coaxed the government to bridge the digital divide and ensure children have access to online classes. Further the bench directed teachers and non-teaching staff to be treated as frontline workers.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nagarathna, B. Venkataramiah}}
[[Category:1962 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Karnataka]]
[[Category:Judges of the Karnataka High Court]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian lawyers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women lawyers]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian judges]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian women judges]]

B. V. Nagarathna - Revision history

imported>Mettle30 at 23:18, 3 September 2021