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“Studying law is a form of protection, especially for marginalised communities like ours,” said Thanya Nathan C, a 24-year-old who is set to become the first visually impaired civil court judge in Kerala. In February, Thanya qualified the Kerala Judicial Service Examination, 2025, which selects Civil Judges (Junior Division) for the Kerala Judicial Service. She topped the merit list for candidates with benchmark disabilities and is now awaiting official appointment.
Hailing from Kannur, Thanya has been practising law in Thaliparamba under advocate Sunilkumar K for the past year and a half. Her experience includes both civil and criminal cases.
It was in class 10 that the desire to become a lawyer took root in her, and by class 12, she had made the decision to pursue the goal. She wrote the entrance exam for the five-year BA LLB programme and gained admission to Kannur University. She graduated with first rank in LLB in the University.
“We all achieve things in life after facing significant discrimination. Knowing the law empowers us to challenge that discrimination,” Thanya said, explaining her motivation to pursue a career in law.
Tackling inaccessibility
Thanya completed her primary education, up to class 7, at Model School for the Blind in Kannur, where she learned Braille, a tactile reading and writing system for visually impaired individuals, along with various social skills.
But in law school, such accessibility tools were hard to find. Thanya said that throughout her University years, she relied primarily on screen-reading software due to the unavailability of Braille texts. “When I was studying law, accessible reading material was few, especially when it came to law. I would listen to study material using screen-reading software and note down points in Braille,” she said.
“Braille language texts are only available up to class 10. Converting text to Braille is practically difficult as it requires a larger number of pages. One page in a regular book might take four or five Braille pages,” she explained.
Thanya further said, “We can't even demand accessible materials, especially in a study branch like law, because of its vastness.”
“Using screen-reading software is not that difficult, and so we don’t usually insist on Braille texts. Nevertheless, having it would have been beneficial,” she said. Thanya added that higher education is shifting towards a more disabled-friendly space, with more texts available In Braille these days.
While practising in court, Thanya would take notes for her argument in Braille and use online reading software to read documents. “If it is an old document, it would be difficult to make it readable online, so I have a helper at the lawyer’s office to assist me with those,” she said.
Motivated by family, and an SC judgement
When the notification for the Judicial Service examination was announced, Thanya's family and seniors encouraged her to apply. Her family comprises her father Jagannathan, who works in the Gulf, mother Babitha, who is a homemaker, and elder sister Thara. "They suggested I take the exam for the experience," she said.
Around the same time, the Supreme Court said that judicial recruitment should not discriminate based on physical disabilities. In March 2025, the apex court delivered a landmark judgement stating that no individual should be excluded from consideration for recruitment in the judicial service solely due to physical disabilities. The court emphasised that persons with disabilities should not face discrimination and that the State must take affirmative action to create an inclusive framework. Additionally, appropriate accommodations must be provided when assessing their eligibility, in line with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
Motivated by this, Thanya decided to apply.
She took the preliminary exam in June 2025 and the main exam in September that year. The interview was held in December, and the results were released in the first week of February. Speaking with TNM, Thanya’s mother Babitha said that it is a moment of great pride for the family. “Its a moment of mixed emotions. We gave her the guidance, but everything else she did alone,” she said.