Indian judge
Justice
K. T. Thomas
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Justice Thomas in 2023
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In office
29 March 1996 ? 30 January 2002
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In office
12 August 1985 ? 26 March 1996
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In office
12 September 1977 ? 11 August 1985
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Born
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1937-01-30
)
30 January 1937
(age 87)
Kottayam,
Travancore
,
British Raj
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Citizenship
| Indian
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Residence
| Kottayam
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Education
| B.A., B.L
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Awards
| Padma Bhushan
(2007)
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Signature
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Kallupurackal Thomas Thomas
(born 30 January 1937) is an Indian former judge who served on the
Supreme Court of India
and is known for his strong opinions on Indian socio-political matters. He was awarded the
Padma Bhushan
by the Indian government in 2007 for services in the field of social affairs.
[1]
Biography
[
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]
K. T. Thomas was born in
Kottayam district
on 30 January 1937. After schooling at Baker Memorial School, he completed his Pre-University course from
CMS College Kottayam
and B.A. at
St. Albert's College, Ernakulam
where he served as the College Union Chairman. He studied law at Madras Law College.
[2]
He enrolled as an advocate in 1960 and started his career in Kottayam as a junior advocate to Joseph Maliakal, a leading lawyer of those days. Soon, he set up his private practice at District Court, Kottayam and later, at the High Court of Kerala. In 1977, he was directly selected as District and Sessions Judge, securing first rank in the selection tests. He was promoted as a Judge of the
High Court of Kerala
in 1985 and served as the Acting Chief Justice in 1995. In 1996, he was appointed as a Judge of the
Supreme Court of India
.
[2]
During his practice as an advocate, he led an Indian delegation to attend the World Conference on Peace held at Texas, USA in 1976. He also served as chairman of one of the Commissions set up in the World Conference.
[3]
Thomas retired from service in 2002 and lives at Muttambalam in Kottayam district. His autobiography,
Honeybees of Solomon
, published in 2008, is an account of his judicial service of 25 years,
[4]
which has since been published in Malayalam in the name
Solomontae Theneechakal
.
[5]
His son, Justice
Bechu Kurian Thomas
, who was one of the youngest to be a designated Senior Advocate of the Kerala High Court was sworn in as an Additional Judge of the Kerala High Court in March 2020.
Notable judgement
[
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Justice Thomas presided over the Supreme Court bench that confirmed the death sentence in the
Rajiv Gandhi
assassination case.
[6]
Political positions
[
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]
Justice Thomas is very vocal in expressing his views.
His recommendations on the fee structure for professional education in
Kerala
at unaided institutions also drew opposition from the institution owners.
[7]
In August 2011, he made a public speech where he exonerated
RSS
from the assassination of
Mahatma Gandhi
[8]
which generated heated public debate.
[9]
His opposition to the Communal and Targeted Violence bill also created a stir. He termed the Bill to be divisive and against the
constitution of India
.
[10]
Though Justice Thomas wrote a dissenting note on the report of the Empowered Committee regarding the maintenance of the water level at
Mullaperiyar dam
, his concurrence with the report stating that the dam was safe raised criticism in his home state of
Kerala
.
[11]
In the
Rajiv Gandhi assassination case
, he opined in 2013 that the three accused sentenced to death should be spared from capital punishment due to the delay of 23 years in carrying out the punishment.
[12]
In March 2014, Thomas declined the offer of the
Government of India
to head the selection committee of
Lokpal
stating the "recommendations of the search committee are not binding on the selection committee. Therefore, the work of the search committee can as well be done by the selection committee itself."
[13]
Another matter of public interest was his letter to the
Chief Justice of India
on allegations raised by Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave regarding the disposal of a 12-year-old land allotment case by a two-judge bench headed by Justice
C.K. Prasad
, which was actually listed before another three Judge Bench.
[14]
Awards
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Positions held
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- District and Sessions Judge, Kottayam ? 1977
- Additional District and Sessions Judge, Calicut ? 1979
- Principal District and Sessions Judge, Calicut ? 1981
- Additional Justice, High Court of Kerala ? 1985
- Permanent Justice, High Court of Kerala ? 1986
- Acting Chief Justice, High Court of Kerala ? 1995
- Justice, Supreme Court of India ? 1996
- Chairman ?
Justice K. T. Thomas Committee
on Unaided professional colleges
[15]
? 2003
- Chairman of the
Police Reforms Monitoring Committee
constituted by the Supreme Court
[12]
- Chairman of the
School Review Commission
to review the functioning of National Law School of India University, Bangalore
[12]
Mukhyarakshaadhikaary of Sevabharathy(A part of RSS) KOTTAYAM.
[12]
Bibliography
[
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]
- Honeybees Of Solomon - Memoirs Of A Jurist - Autobiography (English & Malayalam) - 2008
[16]
- Nyayapeetathilethummunpu - Malayalam - 2015
[17]
- Mullapperiyar Dam: Chila Velippeduthalukal - Malayalam - 2016
[18]
- Vaidyan Chikilsikkunnu Daivam Saukhyamakkunnu - Malayalam - 2018
[19]
- Kottayathinte Kadha - Malayalam - 2021
[20]
- Kuttakruthyangalude Daivasasthram - Malayalam - 2022
[21]
- Momentous Challenges in Two Decades
[22]
References
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External links
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