When the Ernakulam Principal and Sessions Court delivered its most closely watched verdict of the year — the judgment acquitting Malayalam actor Dileep while convicting six others in the 2017 abduction and assault case — it placed the presiding officer, Judge Honey M Varghese, firmly at the centre of public debate.

For a judge who has long maintained a low public profile, the scrutiny surrounding her decisions, courtroom conduct, and personal history has now reached an unprecedented level.

A Judge Under the Spotlight

Honey Varghese has spent more than a decade in the higher judicial service, and her rise has been largely through direct recruitment.

Beginning her legal career in Thrissur, where she worked under senior lawyer KB Mohandas, she moved from trial practice to the bench in 2

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