‘Dalits not duly represented in higher judiciary’

Justice C T Ravikumar, who became the fourth Dalit judge to be elevated to the Supreme Court, retired on January 5 after serving three years in the top court. He tells Suchitra Kalyan Mohanty about his struggles, journey to the top court, challenges he faced as a Dalit judge, and other issues confronting the judiciary. The Collegium, headed by the now-retired CJI NV Ramana, believed that I qualified to be a Supreme Court judge, hence, gave me the opportunity. In 1990, I shifted my practice to the high court and joined the chambers of former Advocate General M K Damodaran, a respected figure in the legal community.