Chennai: A retired Madras High Court judge is among 250-odd Indians missing since August 26 when flash floods hit Nepal and Tibet.
Expressing concern, the Madras Bar Association (MBA) on Monday wrote to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant seeking “urgent” intervention from the Union government to trace Justice V Sivagnanam.
The letter, signed by MBA president VA Kamalanathan and secretary J Pothiraj, urged that efforts to trace the retired judge be “intensified.”
The lawyers appealed to CJI Kant to direct the Union government to treat the matter as “urgent and of highest priority” and to take “all possible effort and measures” to search for justice Sivagnanam.
A day earlier, the Delhi Tamil Advocates Association (DTAA) also wrote to the CJI, urging him to intervene and ask government authorities to help trace Justice Sivagnanam.
Justice Sivagnanam was travelling for religious pilgrimage to Kailash with fellow pilgrims when flash floods struck in the Nepal-Tibet border five days ago.
The Delhi Bar body said rescued pilgrims provided information about the location of the bus in which Justice Sivagnanam was travelling.
“The persons travelling in another bus, who were rescued near the APF Nepal Border Outpost at Timure, have informed the family that Justice Sivagnanam’s bus was only about 100-200 metres away from theirs. The family and our Association are, therefore, gravely concerned about his safety and whereabouts,” DTAA’s letter stated.
He last contacted his wife early on August 26, hours before the flash floods.
During a career spanning 34 years, Justice Sivagnanam served as a judge of Madras High Court before retiring. The Supreme Court then designated him as a senior advocate in July 2025.
The lawyers sought coordination between Indian and Nepalese authorities to locate the former judge and ensure his safe return to India.