Konakuppakatil Gopinathan Balakrishnan (born 12 May 1945) is an Indian judge who has been the Chairperson of the

National Human Rights Commission of India The National Human Rights Commission of India (abbreviated as NHRC) is a statutory public body constituted on 12 October 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Ordinance of 28 September 1993. It was given a statutory basis by the Protection ...

. He is a former

Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India (IAST: ) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint, in consultation w ...

. He was the first judge from Kerala to become the Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. His tenure lasting more than three years has been one of the longest in 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 ...

. While being Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court, he was appointed as the Acting Governor of Gujarat from 16th January 1999 to 18th March 1999.In 2010, he was conferred with an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

Cochin University of Science and Technology Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) is a state government-owned autonomous university in Kochi, Kerala, India. It was founded in 1971 and has three campuses: two in Kochi (Kalamassery and Ernakulam) and one in Kuttanad, Alap ...

Early life and education

Justice K. G. Balakrishnan was born at

Kaduthuruthy Kaduthuruthy is a town in Kottayam District in the state of Kerala, India. Geography Kaduturuthy has an average elevation of . Its name derives from ''Kadal thuruth'', meaning near to the beach as it is believed that several centuries ago, ...

, near

Vaikom Vaikom, , is a municipal town and a capital town of Vaikom Taluk, situated in the northwest of Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India. The town is also noted for its role in the Indian independence movement for being the venue of Vaikom ...

Kingdom of Travancore The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

Nilofar Suhrawardy
"‘Pride of Kerala’ Is India’s Chief Justice"
''Arab News''. Retrieved 19 April 2015. According to Balakrishnan, "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."Shloka Nath (28 December 2009)
"People's Advocate"
''Forbes''. Retrieved 19 April 2015. His father was a clerk in the Vaikom munsiff court and was a classmate of

K. R. Narayanan Kocheril Raman Narayanan (27 October 1921 – 9 November 2005) was an Indian statesman, diplomat, academic, and politician who served as the 9th vice president of India, Vice President of India from 1992 to 1997 and 10th President of India fr ...

who hailed from Uzhavoor, a village near

. After completing his primary education in Thalayolaparambu, he finished school at the Government High School,

for which he had to walk 5 km every day. Subsequently, he joined the

Maharaja's College, Ernakulam The Maharaja's College is a government college of higher education located in Kochi, Kerala. Established in 1875, it is one of the oldest colleges in India. Located in the heart of the city, the college is spread over a campus of on the ban ...

, where he studied for his BSc He took his

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

(L.L.B.) degree from the

Government Law College, Ernakulam The Government Law College, Ernakulam, also known as His Highness the Maharajas Government Law College, Ernakulam is an prestigious institution for undergraduate and post-graduate legal education in , Kerala, India. Founded in 1874, it is the ...

, and enrolled as an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

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 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 ...

. In 1985, he was appointed as a judge of the Kerala High Court, and was transferred to the

Gujarat High Court The Gujarat High Court is the High Court of the state of Gujarat. It was established on 1 May 1960 under the ''Bombay Re-organisation Act, 1960'' after the state of Gujarat split from Bombay State. The seat of the court is Ahmedabad. The prese ...

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 was appointed as the Acting Governor of Gujarat from 16th January 1999 to 18th March 1999.He also served as the Member of the General Council of the

Gujarat National Law University The Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) is a pre-eminent public law school and a National Law University established under the ''Gujarat National Law University Act, 2003'' in the state of Gujarat. The university is located at Gandhinagar, ...

. On 8 June 2000 he was appointed a judge of the

. He was sworn in as the Chief Justice of India on 14 January 2007 by then President

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (; 15 October 193127 July 2015) was an Indian aerospace scientist and statesman who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. He was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu and studied phy ...

. After his retirement on 12 May 2010, he has been serving since 7 June 2010 as the Chairman 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 ...

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.CJI's Office Comes Within RTI Act: Delhi HC
. news.outlookindia.com. Retrieved on 2010-12-27. 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. Justice K. G. 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. Justice KG 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 Kasaragod () is a municipal town and administrative headquarters of Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1966, Kasaragod was the first municipal town in the district. It is the northernmost district of Kerala and ...

as NHRC Chairman initiating

suo motu In law, ''sua sponte'' (Latin: "of his, her, its or their own accord") or ''suo motu'' ("on its own motion") describes an act of authority taken without formal prompting from another party. The term is usually applied to actions by a judge taken wi ...

complaint, Balakrishnan felt there had been violations of human rights against the populace by the harmful spraying of the pesticide

Endosulfan Endosulfan is an off-patent organochlorine insecticide and acaricide that is being phased out globally. It became a highly controversial agrichemical due to its acute toxicity, potential for bioaccumulation, and role as an endocrine disruptor. ...

, and recommended the founding of a super-speciality hospital for the relief of the victims.

Notable judgments

In a

judgement he asked the election commission to debar the political parties which impose

hartal Hartal () is a term in many Indian languages for a strike action that was first used during the Indian independence movement (also known as the nationalist movement) of the early 20th century. A hartal is a mass protest, often involving a total sh ...

s on the public causing them suffering. Making distribution of lunch compulsory in schools. He was a part of the three-member

bench that decided a

public interest litigation The chief instrument through which judicial activism has flourished in India is public interest litigation (PIL) or social action litigation (SAL). ''Public interest litigation'' (PIL) refers to litigation undertaken to secure public interest and de ...

(PIL) filed by two

National Democratic Alliance National Democratic Alliance (NDA) () is a Centre-right politics, centre-right to Right-wing politics, right-wing and Conservatism, conservative Indian big tent political alliance led by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It was foun ...

leaders seeking the cancellation of bail of

Rashtriya Janata Dal The Rashtriya Janata Dal ( RJD; translation: ''National People's Party'') is an Indian political party, based in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Kerala. The party was founded in 1997 by Lalu Prasad Yadav. The party's support base has tradit ...

chief

Lalu Prasad Lalu Prasad Yadav (born 11 June 1948) is an Indian politician and president of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). He is a former Chief Minister of Bihar (1990-1997), a former Railway Minister of India (2004-2009), and a former Member of Parliam ...

and his wife and former Bihar Chief Minister

Rabri Devi Rabri Devi Yadav (born 1 January 1955) is an Indian politician who formerly served three terms as the Chief Minister of Bihar, the first and only woman till date to have held the office. She is a Member of Bihar Legislative Council (MLC), and ...

for their interference in the judicial process in the

disproportionate assets Disproportionate assets is a term used in India to describe a situation where an individual's net economic assets significantly exceed the assets he or she should possess after accounting for the assets that he or she previously held and all legal ...

(DA) and Income Tax cases against them. The verdict (2-1) went in favour of Prasad. Justice Balakrishnan and Justice Lakshmanan said according to Article 233 of the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ri ...

the Governor has power to appoint a judge in the subordinate judiciary in consultation with the High Court Administration and held that it was the prerogative of the government to appoint any lawyer as public prosecutor. However, Justice S H Kapadia gave a dissenting judgement saying the income tax department should have filed an appeal against the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) order. On the issue of promotion of judge Munni Lal Paswan, he said, while competence and suitability of two other judges, who were promoted to the post of Special Judge along with Paswan, were determined on the basis of annual confidential report (ACRs) and inspecting the judges' reports, the criteria was not applied while promoting Paswan who had been found to be slow in disposing cases. In 2010, he passed a judgement prohibiting

narcoanalysis "Truth serum" is a colloquial name for any of a range of psychoactive drugs used in an effort to obtain information from subjects who are unable or unwilling to provide it otherwise. These include ethanol, scopolamine, 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate, ...

in interrogations.

Controversies

Justice H. L. Gokhale of the Supreme Court has accused Balakrishnan of misrepresenting facts to conceal sacked telecom minister

A. Raja Andimuthu Raja (born Sathyaseelan; 26 October 1963) is an Indian politician from Tamil Nadu, who serves as Member of Parliament for the Nilgiris constituency and deputy general secretary for the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. He was a member of t ...

's attempt to influence Justice R. Reghupathy of the

Madras High Court The Madras High Court is a High Court in India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is located in Chennai, and is the third oldest high court of India after the Calcutta High C ...

, on behalf of two murder accused known to the DMK leader. 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. In February 2012, the

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

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

and another brother K. G. Raju was conferred

IAS IAS may refer to: Science * Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton, New Jersey, United States * Image Analysis & Stereology, the official journal of the International Society for Stereology & Image Analysis. * Iowa Archeological Society, Uni ...

Kerala Government Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision ...

and served as District Collector for

Wayanad Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of Indian state Kerala with administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, the southern ...

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 ...

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 he cases many of those who were given death penalty really deserved it in the cases imposed

n them N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

"Death penalty has deterrent effect: NHRC chairperson
The Hindu, 2 August 2010