The real impact of judgments

I was a judge of the Madras High Court until I retired, and then I was appointed the chairperson of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB).

When I look back on those years, and the judgments I wrote, two compulsions stand out: gender equality and access to health in a world of patents. I will share two cases, one for each compulsion.

Acknowledging women’s rights

First the gender equality case, National Insurance Co. Ltd v Minor Deepika (2009). A very young girl lost both her parents in a motor accident. She claimed compensation from the insurance company, but the claims tribunal said that since the mother was not a “working woman”, only a nominal amount would be given as monetary compensation for her loss.

The insurance company challenged the award on many grounds, including on the ground that the compensation awarded for the mother’s death was on the higher side. So we (a division bench consisting of myself and another judge) asked the company’s representative: “How much is a mother worth?”