Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan, former Chief Justice of High Courts of Calcutta, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh, passed away on Monday at a private hospital in Kochi.
Justice Radhakrishnan served as Judge of the Kerala High Court for 12 years, besides serving as the acting Chief Justice twice.
Justice Radhakrishnan was born on April 29, 1959 to late N. Bhaskaran Nair and late K. Parukutty Amma, both lawyers practising in Kollam district of Kerala.
He completed his schooling from St. Joseph’s Convent and Government Boys’ High School, Kollam and the Arya Central School, Thiruvananthapuram.
The University of Cambridge (Local Examination Syndicate) conferred him with ISC, while he was studying in Trinity Lyceum, Kollam.
Justice Radhakrishnan completed his B.Sc. in Zoology from Fatima Matha National College, Kollam under the University of Kerala. He then obtained an LL.B. degree from the KGF Law College of Bangalore University.
Justice Radhakrishnan enrolled as a lawyer in December 1983 and commenced his practice at Thiruvananthapuram as junior to late Advocate P. Ramakrishna Pillai.
He practised in various fields of law, but his primary focus was on Civil, Constitutional and Administrative Laws.
Justice Radhakrishnan has remained notable for his interventions in the functioning of mental healthcare centres in the state, issues faced by senior citizens and matters related to Devasom.
Five years later, he shifted his practice to the Kerala High Court and joined the office of the late Senior Advocate P Sukumaran Nair.
Justice Radhakrishnan was sworn-in as permanent Judge of the High Court of Kerala on October 14, 2004, almost 20 years after enrolling as an Advocate.
While serving as judge at the Kerala High Court, Justice Radhakrishnan served as President of the Kerala Judicial Academy, Executive Chairman of the Kerala State Legal Services Authority, Executive Chairman of the Lakshadweep State Legal Services Authority, Chairman of the Law Reporting Council, ILR (Kerala Series) and as President of the Rule Committee under Section 123 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
He was a member of the Central Authority of National Legal Services Authority as well.
Justice Radhakrishnan was appointed as Acting Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court on May 13, 2016, a post he maintained till August 1, 2016.
He was once again made the Acting Chief Justice on February 2, 2017 and served the same till March 18, 2018, when he was sworn in as Chief Justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court.
He was sworn-in as Chief Justice of the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad for the States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in July 2018. On January 1, 2019, he was sworn-in as Chief Justice of the High Court for the State of Telangana.
Justice Radhakrishnan was sworn-in as Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court on April 4, 2019 and he held the post till his retirement in April 2021.