K.G.Balakrishnan

K.G.Balakrishnan

People’s Chief Justice Of India walks up the ladder through sheer hard work & holding fast to his integrity. --by Hari.L

India’s Pride Mr. Konakuppakatil Gopinathan Balakrishnan was the first judge from the state of Kerala, and from a Scheduled Caste background, to become the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. His tenure lasting more than three years has been one of the longest in the Supreme Court of India. He was the former Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of India Born in an underprivileged community , Justice Balakrishnan walks up the ladder to become

A Chief Justice of India through sheer hard work, holding fast to his integrity. When Balakrishnan was born in Thalayolaparambu village in Kerala’s Kottayam district on May 12, 1945, his parents had not visualized that their son would ever rise to this position. However,

According to Balakrishnan, “Though my father was only a matriculate and my mother had her schooling up to the seventh standard, they wanted to give their children the best education.” His father Gopinathan was the first person in the family who did matriculation despite several odds and later retired as a clerk from the Kerala judicial services. 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. He completed his graduation in science, overcoming caste hurdles inherent in Kerala society back then. He completed his law degree from Maharaja's Law College, enrolled as an Advocate of the Kerala Bar Council on 16 March 1968, and pleaded both criminal and civil cases in the Ernakulam Court. He was appointed as a Munsif in the Kerala Judicial Service on 10 January 1973.

Later on, he resigned from the service and resumed practice as an Advocate in the Kerala High Court. According to him, "both advocates and judges have an equal responsibility towards the society. So both deserve equal respect from the people". He was appointed as a Judge of the Kerala High Court on 26 September 1985. He became the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court on the 16th July, 1998, and was transferred to the High Court of Judicature at Madras, and assumed charge there as Chief Justice on the 9th September, 1999. Balakrishnan credits Indian democracy for his achievement. “Even if you have a lot of disabilities, you can come out of them by working hard. That is, even under our system we can come up, and that is a great thing.” He was elevated as the Judge of the Supreme Court on 8 June 2000. Because of his many more years hard work and dedication at his disposal that led him to the position of eminence. (Destiny has its own law.

Taking destiny in one's own hands is for those who aspire to achieve greatness. For Konakuppakkattil Gopinathan Balakrishnan, it was not destiny alone that played its role on June 8, 2000, when he was elevated to the post of a supreme court judge. Rather his hard work and dedication led him to the position of eminence.) He has given several rulings, which have had far-reaching effects on the society, in his judicial career. His controversial judgement asking the election commission to debar the political parties, which impose hartals on the public, has been warmly welcomed by the common man. "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, contends Justice Balakrishnan. Being a man of great caliber and dedication, on 14 January 2007, he was became the 37th Chief Justice of India and retired on 12 May 2010. With his 3 years 4 months, tenure has been one of the longest in the Supreme Court of India. During his tenure in the Supreme Court, he delivered several landmark judgements.

These included an order, which made the mid-day meal program in schools a statutory requirement. This order brought relief to millions of poor children who had to discontinue their studies due to poverty. A division bench headed by him held as unconstitutional forcible narco-analysis, polygraph and brain electrical activation profile or brain-mapping tests by the investigating agencies, which were raising concerns on the human rights of the people. Mr. K.G. Balakrishnan, Former Chief Justice of India, joined as the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of India on 7 June 2010. He is the sixth Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission. He served as the NHRC chairperson from 7 June 2010 until 11 May 2015. He has participated in a number of international seminars and delivered thought provoking lectures in various Universities on legal topics. Former Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan is married to Nirmala and they have a son and two daughters - Pradeep, Sony and Rani.

He has 5 brothers and 2 sisters. His younger brother K. G. Bhaskaran was government pleader in Kerala High Court and another brother K. G. Raju was conferred IAS by Kerala Government and served as District Collector for Wayanad, Kerala Never stop fighting until you arrive at your destined place - that is, the unique Of Former Chief Justice of India Mr. K.G Balakrishnan.

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