In a first, a visually challenged woman all set to become a judge in Kerala

Lawyer Thanya Nathan C. will soon enter the judicial history of Kerala as the first visually impaired female judge.

Miss Nathan, who is completely blind, stood first in the merit list of comparatively disabled persons in the recently held judicial service examination for the selection of Civil Judges (Junior Division) in the Kerala Judicial Service. Joyson Sajan, who has cerebral palsy, came second.

This was a landmark judgment by the Supreme Court Bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan in 2025, which held that “visually impaired candidates cannot be said to be ‘unfit’ for judicial service and that they are eligible to stand for selection for posts in the judicial service”, paving the way for Ms. Nathan to become a judge.

The Board stated that persons with disabilities “should not be subjected to any discrimination when availing themselves of legal service opportunities, and instead affirmative action should be taken on the part of the State to ensure an inclusive framework” and that no candidate would be denied “consideration solely on the basis of his or her disability”.

“This must probably be the first time a visually impaired candidate has cleared the judicial service examination in Kerala. It is not known whether such candidates have applied for the post before. There are no visually impaired judges in Kerala at present,” judicial sources said.

Sources said the Kerala High Court has completed the selection process and the list has been forwarded to the government, which will issue the appointment letter.

Holder of an LLB rank

Overcoming her limitations as a person with no perception of light, Ms. Nathan, 24, secured first place in the LLB examination from Kannur University. He started his legal career as a student of KG Sunilkumar at Taliparamba in Kannur. “My elders and a few others encouraged me to take the recruitment test and the Supreme Court judgment came as the right support. I studied law using Braille text. Now technology has come to the aid of people like me, screen reading software helps us read texts,” said Ms Nathan, who does not need a white cane to move around. Hindu.

in Braille

“As a lawyer, I was preparing argument notes in Braille alphabet. Accessing old documents that cannot be read with software may be one of the challenges I may face in the future. Accessibility can be a major obstacle in courtrooms. But I believe I will overcome these challenges,” he said.

According to judicial sources, Ms. Nathan’s impending appointment also poses challenges for the Kerala judiciary in making the judicial process, justice delivery system and physical infrastructure, including courtrooms, benches, offices and chambers, accessible to differently-abled people.