K. G. Balakrishnan

Konakuppakatil Gopinathan Balakrishnan (, 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 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 Thalayolaparambu, 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 B. L. degree from the Government Law College, Ernakulam, and enrolled as an advocate in the...
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