New Delhi: A year after the Supreme Court cleared the path for persons with benchmark disabilities to enter judicial service, 24-year-old lawyer C Thanya Nathan is set to become Kerala’s first visually impaired judicial officer.

According to a report by The Indian Express, Thanya secured the top rank in the persons with disabilities category for civil judge, junior division, in the Kerala Judicial Service examination. The rank list was released by the Kerala High Court last week.

The development follows a March 2025 Supreme Court ruling which held that candidates with disabilities, including visual impairment, cannot be barred from judicial service on the ground of disability. The judgment came while the court was hearing a challenge to a Madhya Pradesh service rule that effectively excluded such candidates.

For Thanya, a native of Mangad in Kannur who has been practising at the Taliparamba court complex for the past one-and-a-half years, the ruling marked a turning point.

“My appointment is in process. There will be a one-year training at the Kerala Judicial Academy before being appointed as a magistrate/munsiff,” Thanya tells The Indian Express.

She says technology has played a crucial role in enabling her journey from law student to judicial officer. In her early academic years, she depended heavily on Braille material.

“During my days as a law student, I had to convert study materials into braille. It had been an uphill task. But when I wanted to prepare for the judicial services examination, text-to-speech technology came to my aid. This helped me access several online study materials and documents,” she says.

Thanya studied at a special school from Classes 1 to 7 before moving to a regular school, where lessons were converted into Braille to support her education.

As she began her legal practice, her mother Babitha accompanied her by bus to court each day and brought her back home. Her father and elder sister work in the Middle East.

“Initially, I only dreamed of becoming a lawyer. But my family and senior advocate K G Sunil Kumar encouraged me to apply for the post of civil judge when recruitment was notified last year. The bar and bench at Taliparamba have always supported me,” she says.

With her training at the Kerala Judicial Academy set to begin, Thanya’s appointment is expected to mark a first for the state’s judiciary and reflect the impact of the Supreme Court’s directive on inclusive recruitment.

By Aparna Vats