Cyriac Joseph (born on 28 January 1947 at

Kaipuzha Kaipuzha is a small village in Kottayam District and sub-district in the Indian state of Kerala. 2001 census, it had a population of 6,991 in 1,565 households. Geography The name Kaipuzha is derived from the two words Kai (which means "hand") ...

Kottayam District Kottayam (), is one of 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. Kottayam district comprises six municipal towns: Kottayam, Changanassery, Pala, Erattupetta, Ettumanoor, and Vaikom. It is the only district in Kerala that neither borders the ...

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

) was a Judge of the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

from 7 July 2008 to 27 January 2012.Website Supreme Court of India
/ref>

Early life

He was born in

, Kottayam Kerala on 28 January 1947. He completed his education from

St. Margarette's U.P.School,

St. George's High School, Palai St Thomas College,

St. Berchmans College St. Berchmans College, Changanassery (Autonomous), also known as SB College, is one of the first Autonomous Colleges in Kerala. One of the most famous colleges in India, the college has a strength of 3000 students with 800 hostlers. Currently, ...

Changanacherry and

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

Government Law College.Website Knanaya Community
/ref> His marriage was held in Collective Wedding (Samooha vivaham) conducted by Knanaya Community, in which he was a leader, to give message to community to reduce marriage extravagances.

Career

He started his career in advocacy on 12 October 1968 and started practicing in District Court Kottayam and then shifted to

Kerala High Court The High Court of Kerala is the highest court in the Indian state of Kerala and the Union territory of Lakshadweep. It is located in Kochi. Drawing its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the High Court has the power to issu ...

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation a ...

. He served as Government Pleader in Kerala High Court from 1976 to 1979, as Senior Government Pleader in Kerala High Court from 1979 to 1987, as Additional Advocate General of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

State from 6 July 1991 to 5 July 1994. He was appointed permanent judge of Kerala High Court on 6 July 1994. Thereafter, on 5 August 1994 he has been transferred to

Delhi High Court The High Court of Delhi (IAST: ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966'', with four judges, Chief Justice K. S. Hegde, Justice I. D. Dua, Justice H. R. Khanna and Justice S. ...

and transferred back to Kerala High Court on 24 September 2001. He was the Chief Justice of

Uttarakhand High Court The Uttarakhand High Court is the High Court of the state of Uttarakhand in India. The building of Uttarakhand High Court was constructed by Santoni MacDonald in 1900. The Uttarakhand State was carved out from the State of Uttar Pradesh on ...

and

Karnataka High Court Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. He became a Judge of Supreme Court of India on 7 July 2008 and he served as a judge in Supreme Court till 27 January 2012. After retirement, he was supposed to have been nominated as the Chairman of the

Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal The Telecommunications Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) was established to adjudicate disputes and dispose of appeals with a view to protect the interests of service providers and consumers of the Indian telecommunications sec ...

(TDSAT). That appointment was put on hold following Telecom Minister

Kapil Sibal Kapil Sibal (born 8 August 1948) is an Indian lawyer and politician. Sibal has represented several high-profile cases in the Supreme Court of India and is widely regarded as one of the famous lawyers of India. He is a Member of Parliament, in Ra ...

's reservations about the appointment since the judge had been criticised for his style of functioning by an intelligence agency of the government. Subsequently, the government has been trying to appoint him as a member of the

National Human Rights Commission A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights. The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...

but the opposition

BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

has been staunchly opposed to the idea.

The Sunday Guardian ''The Sunday Guardian'' is an Indian Sunday newspaper, founded by journalist and politician M. J. Akbar, and currently owned by iTV Network. It was launched on 31 January 2010 from New Delhi and is printed in New Delhi, Mumbai and Chandigarh. ...

reported that Justice Joseph delivered only 10 judgements during his tenure of 1300 days.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Cyriac 1947 births Living people Justices of the Supreme Court of India Malayali people People from Kottayam district Judges of the Kerala High Court Judges of the Delhi High Court Chief Justices of the Uttarakhand High Court 20th-century Indian judges Chief Justices of the Karnataka High Court Ombudsmen in India 21st-century Indian judges Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram alumni