Donald Trump nominates Indian-American as US district judge in Florida
Washington: President Donald Trump has nominated Indian-American Circuit Court Judge Anuraag Singhal as a federal judge in the US state of Florida.
Singhal is among the 17 judiciary nominations sent by the White House to the Senate. If confirmed by the Senate, Singhal would replace Judge James I. Cohn on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Singhal is the first Indian-American to be nominated to this position in Florida. His confirmation hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled for Wednesday.
Singhal, in his mid-50s, currently serves as a Circuit Court Judge for the 17th Judicial Circuit in Broward County, Florida, having been appointed to the bench by then-Governor Rick Scott in 2011.
Before his appointment, Singhal was in private practice in Fort Lauderdale where his practice focused on criminal defense in both the trial courts and courts of appeals, the White House said.
Early in his career, he served as a prosecutor in the Office of the State Attorney. Singhal earned his B.A. from Rice University and his Juris Doctor degree from Wake Forest University School of Law.
In July, the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of South Florida backed Singhal's nomination to the federal district court of Southern Florida.
In a letter to Attorney General William Barr, said Singhal has consistently demonstrated his commitment to service and diversity through his involvement in the legal community, and that he was engaged with other legal and civic organisations to "improve the law, legal system, and the administration of justice."
Singhal's nomination comes days after President Trump nominated prominent Indian-American attorney Shireen Mathews as a judge of the US District Court for the Southern District of California.
If confirmed, Matthews will be the first Asian Pacific American woman and first Indian-American to serve as an Article III federal judge in the Southern District, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) said.
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Madras HC strikes down TN order limiting maternity leave for third child
Chennai: The Madras High Court has set aside a Tamil Nadu government order restricting maternity leave for a third pregnancy to 12 weeks, holding the move to be contrary to established legal principles.
A division bench comprising Justices R Suresh Kumar and N Senthil Kumar ruled that there was no justification to treat third pregnancies differently from the first two, observing that the physical and medical requirements of childbirth remain the same irrespective of the number of pregnancies, as reported by The News Minute.
According to a report published by Live Law, the court was hearing a petition filed by Shayee Nisha, a staff member of the district judiciary in Villupuram, whose request for maternity leave from February 2026 to February 2027 had been curtailed to three months by authorities citing the March 13, 2026 government order.
Quashing the decision of the Principal District Judge and related directions asking her to resume duty, the bench directed that she be granted maternity leave on par with that provided for earlier pregnancies, allowing up to 365 days.
The court noted that both the Supreme Court of India and earlier rulings of the High Court had consistently held that maternity benefits cannot be denied for a third child. Holding the restriction to be unsustainable, the court directed authorities to process maternity leave applications without discrimination based on the number of pregnancies.
It also pointed out that a similar issue had been addressed by a division bench earlier this year, which had disapproved denial of maternity leave in such cases and directed that its ruling be circulated among judicial officers. Despite this, the state issued the impugned order, the bench observed.
