K. G. Balakrishnan

Konakuppakatil Gopinathan Balakrishnan
Justice K. G. Balakrishnan, during an official visit to Brasília in 2008
37th Chief Justice of India
In office 14 January 2007 – 12 May 2010
Appointed by	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Preceded by	Y. K. Sabharwal
Succeeded by	Sarosh Homi Kapadia
Personal details
Born	12 May 1945 Thalayolaparambu, Travancore, British India
Spouse(s)	Nirmala Balakrishnan
Alma mater	Government Law College, Ernakulam

Konakuppakatil Gopinathan Balakrishnan (Malayalam: കൊനകുപ്പക്കാട്ടില്‍ ഗോപിനാഥന്‍ ബാലകൃഷ്ണന്‍, b. 12 May 1945) is presently the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of India. He was formerly the Chief Justice of India.

He was the first judge from the state of Kerala to become the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He was also the first person of Dalit origin to ascend to the post of the Chief Justice in the Supreme Court of India. His tenure lasting more than three years has been one of the longest in the Supreme Court of India.

Early life and education

K. G. Balakrishnan was born at Kaduthuruthy, near Vaikom, Kingdom of Travancore, into a Pulaya Dalit family. According to Balakrishnan, his parents were the only source of inspiration for him: "Though my father was only a matriculate and my mother had her schooling only up to the seventh standard, they wanted to give their children the best education. His father was a clerk in the Vaikom munsiff court and was a classmate of K. R. Narayanan who also hailed from a Dalit family in Uzhavoor, a village near Vaikom. "

After completing his primary education in Thalayolaparambu, he finished school at the Government High School, Vaikom for which he had to walk 5 km every day. Subsequently, he joined the Maharaja's College at Ernakulam, where he studied for his B. Sc.. He took his Bachelor of Laws (L.L.B.) degree from the Government Law College, Ernakulam, and enrolled as an advocate in the Kerala Bar Council in 1968, beginning practice at the Munsiff's court, Vaikom. He then completed his L.L.M. in 1971.

Career

As an advocate he pleaded both criminal and civil cases in the Ernakulam court. He was later appointed as a Munsiff in the Kerala Judicial Services in 1973. He later resigned from the services and resumed practice as an advocate in the Kerala High Court. In 1985, he was appointed as a judge of the Kerala High Court, and was transferred to the Gujarat High Court in 1997. He became the Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court in 1998, and in 1999, he assumed charge as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Judicature at Madras. While being Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court, he also discharged duties of Governor of Gujarat for about two months.

On the 8 June 2000 he was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court. He was sworn in as the Chief Justice of India on 14 January 2007 by then President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. After his retirement on 12 May 2010, he has been serving since 7 June 2010 as the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission.

Public stances, opinions and views

Balakrishnan has tried to exempt the Office of the Chief Justice of India from the purview of the Right to Information Act. He ordered the Supreme Court registry to file an appeal before the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Court judgement making the office of the CJI amenable to the RTI act. He has also spoken about the need for amending the RTI act in the interests of the right to privacy.

Balakrishnan has said "due regard" must be given to the "personal autonomy" of rape victims to decide on whether they should marry the perpetrator or choose to give birth to a child conceived through forced crime. Lawyers and women's rights activists have expressed some reservations.

Balakrishnan has stated that pornography sites and hate speeches should be banned from the internet. He also passed a judgment stating that journaling on the web any thing hateful even against a political party is liable for censorship.

On a visit to Kasaragode as NHRC Chairman initiating suo motu complaint, Balakrishnan felt there had been violations of human rights against the populace by the harmful spraying of the pesticide Endosulfan, and recommended the founding of a super-speciality hospital for the relief of the victims.

Judgments given

• Asking the election commission to debar the political parties which impose hartals on the public.
• Prohibiting narcoanalysis in interrogations.
• Making distribution of lunch compulsory in schools.

Controversies

Justice H. L. Gokhale of the Supreme Court has accused Balakrishnan of misrepresenting facts to conceal sacked telecom minister A. Raja's attempt to influence Justice R. Reghupathy of the Madras High Court, on behalf of two murder accused known to the DMK leader.

Balakrishnan's son-in-law and Indian Youth Congress leader P. V. Srinijan, who did not have any land four years ago, is now the owner of property worth hundreds of thousands of rupees. According to a report by news channel Asianet News, Srinijan had declared while contesting as a Congress candidate in the 2006 Assembly elections that he had no landed property. He had contested unsuccessfully from the SC reserved constituency of Njarackal in Ernakulam. In light of the charges, Srinijan resigned from the Youth Congress. Former Chief Justice J. S. Verma, former apex court Judge V. R. Krishna Iyer, noted jurist Fali S. Nariman, former member of NHRC Sudarshan Agrawal and the prominent activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan have called for Justice Balakrishnan to step down from the chairmanship of the NHRC pending an inquiry into the matter.

A petition-seeking vigilance probe into the allegations of "amassment of wealth disproportionate to their sources of income" by Balakrishnan's family members, was filed before the Income Tax Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau. The income tax department confirmed recently that at least three of his relatives had held a large amount of black money.

In February 2012, the Supreme Court of India in a case filed by the NGO Common Cause, inquired of the government as to the progress in the probe against Justice Balakrishnan.

Personal life

K. G. Balakrishnan is married to Nirmala and they have two daughters, Sony and Rani. His younger brother K. G. Bhaskaran was government pleader in Kerala High Court until recently.

Quotes

• "Really, it is a matter of pride for us, but what I achieved is the result of hard labour and integrity."
• "Both advocates and judges have an equal responsibility towards the society. So both deserve equal respect from the people."
• "The forcible strikes by political parties has a very bad effect on common people. You can see how patients, passengers, and children suffer during strikes."
• "Trial and defence lawyers should not terrorise witnesses. A judge should be alert and caring."
• "Any dilution of the right to a fair trial for all individuals, however heinous their crimes may be, will be a moral loss against those who preach hatred and violence."
• "In India, different types of crimes are on the increase. The death penalty will have a deterrent effect on the people. If you analyse [the cases], many of those who were given death penalty really deserved it in the cases imposed [on them]."

Further reading

• Home page of Hon'ble Justice Mr. K. G. Balakrishnan as the Chief Justice of India
• Andalib Akhtar: Rising from down under, Meantime, Apr. 2001
• V. Venkatesan: Judiciary and Social justice, Frontline, Oct. 2000.
• V. Venkatesan: Interview with the CJI, The Hindu, 10 Jan. 2009.

Preceded by Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal	Chief Justice of India 14 January 2007 – 12 May 2010	Succeeded by S. H. Kapadia
Preceded by Anshuman Singh	Governor of Gujarat (Acting) Jan 1999 – March 1999	Succeeded by Sunder Singh Bhandari