Chennai: Formerly a Madras High Court judge, Justice A. Selvam has now renounced city life for a life at the farm. As videos of him plowing a field on a tractor are going viral, the judge said that he has only done what he has always wanted to do.
Two videos of the retired judge have been forwarded on all Whatsapp groups in the city, and this time, it is one of inspiration praising him for going back to his roots. “In times when retired judges take up jobs as a one-member commission or as a judicial member of a tribunal, Judge A Selvam, who served as a high court judge for 13 years is now doing agriculture in his land,” reads the message.
Now in his native Pulankurichi in Tiruppattur taluk of Sivaganga district, Justice Selvam says this life isn't a “major shift” for him. “My family has always been completely agricultural. We have been growing crops for over a century. I studied well, so I was sent off to Madurai to pursue it, fortunately, or unfortunately,” he says.
Starting his legal career in 1981, he gradually rose from being an additional judge in Tiruvannamalai District court to being one of the permanent judges of the Madras High Court. However, retiring this year, at the age of 62, the Judge says he has completely forgotten his judicial life. “Now my life is my farm and my village. I did not like city life at all. There is no fresh air, the water is polluted and so are the people. Life is much simpler here,” he says.
Speaking about the kind of crops he grows, the Judge says that paddy is their major crop, and because they have two borewells, water is not a problem for the water-heavy crop. “During the summers we switch to vegetables like lady finger, brinjal, and groundnuts but we mostly grow rice,” he says.
