N.B. Nair
‘Firm on law, fair on justice,’ reads the slogan on the website of Surendran K. Pattel, in the run-up to seeking Democratic Party nomination for 240th Judicial District Judge from Texas, USA. Pattel along with other newly elected or re-elected officials were sworn in as Fort Bend County judges on 1 January. Among them were two more Indians, Juli A Mathew, and K P George, both from Pattel’s home state of Kerala.
Born in a very poor family in northern Kerala, Pattel had to struggle to complete his education. He did his graduation from Payyannur College and a law degree from Government Law College, Kozhikode.
Young Pattel and his elder sister rolled beedis at a factory in Kasaragod to support the financially strapped family. During his law course, he worked in a hotel to support his studies.
“During this period, I worked to earn my way through college and to provide financial support for my family, attending classes and working nights and weekends,” reads an introduction about Pattel on his election website.
After passing out from the law college in 1995, Pattel started practicing as a junior lawyer at Hosdurg Bar, in Kasargod, the northern part of Kerala.
After almost a decade he married a nurse, who moved to Delhi on placement as a staff nurse in a hospital there. In the national capital, he was introduced to Rajeev Dhavan, a senior lawyer of the Supreme Court of India, who allowed him to use his name to get cases and start practice in the apex court for the next three years.
“As a trial lawyer, I gained extensive experience in civil and criminal cases, election law, matrimonial proceedings, and labour and industrial law.In 2005, I relocated to Delhi, India, where I practiced before the Supreme Court of India, acquiring invaluable experience in appellate law,” reads his bio.
In 2009, the family moved to the United States, when his wife got an opportunity to work in Housten. Initially, it was not as easy as he expected, and had to work – from a lawyer in India’s apex court to a salesman in a grocery shop in Housten.
Concurrently, Pattel prepared to qualify for the Texas Bar Examination to work in the United States and also for a postgraduate degree in law from the University of Housten Law Centre.
Once Pattel got American citizenship in 2017, he was gradually dragged into the political process there. He tried in 2020 also to be a district judge but lost it.
Surendran ran again in 2022 against a sitting judge in the Democratic Party primary. During the run-up, he launched a campaign directly addressing people and received support from unexpected quarters to become the nominee of the Democrats.
“As an immigrant and naturalised citizen, I have a deep appreciation of everything that America has to offer. I revel in the cultural and ethnic diversity of our country, and I look forward to serving all of you. I promise to be an impartial, fair, and honest jurist, serving you and your family with integrity and compassion,” reads his campaign appeal.
Image courtesy: Surendran K. Pattel’s election website