Young Chief Justice P. Sathasivam

Hon'ble Mr. Justice P. Sathasivam (b.27.04.1949)
Term of Office: 21.08.2007 to 26.04.2014

PROFILE

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  P. Sathasivam, B.A., B.L., - born on April 27, 1949.
  
  


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  Enrolled as an Advocate on July 25, 1973 at Madras.
  
  


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  Practiced in all types of Writ, Civil and Criminal matters, Company Petition, Insolvency Petitions, Habeas Corpus Petitions both on Original and Appellate sides of the Madras High Court.
  
  


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  Worked as Government Advocate, Additional Government Pleader, Special Government Pleader in the Madras High Court.
  
  


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  Also worked as Legal Adviser for several State owned Transport Corporations, Municipalities, Nationalized Banks etc.
  
  


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  Appointed as a permanent Judge of the Madras High Court on January 8, 1996.
  
  


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  Transferred to the Punjab & Haryana High Court on 20.04.2007.
  
  


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  Appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India on 21.08.2007.
  
  


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  Due to retire on 27.04.2014 (F.N.)
  
  

P. Sathasivam (born 27 April 1949) is a judge of the Supreme Court of India. He is going to succeed Altamas Kabir as Chief Justice of India after his tenure as Chief Justice is over. He will become the 40th Chief Justice of India. He is the first judge from Tamil Nadu to become the CJI.

He was born into an agricultural family to Palanisamy and Natchiammal at Kadappanallur village near Bhavani of Erode district. He graduated in law from Government Law College, Chennai after completing his BA degree to become the first graduate in his family and his village

Justice Sathasivam has been the author of several path-breaking judgments including the Reliance Gas Judgment wherein he emphasised the use of natural resources through public sector undertakings. He observed that “in a national democracy like ours, the national assets belong to the people” and “the government owns such assets for the purposes of developing them in the interests of the people".
It was Justice Sathasivam who delivered the verdict in the controversial triple murder case of Stains. Justice Sathasivam upheld the conviction of Dara Singh in that case.

Jessica Lal Murder Case of 29-4-1999, whose legal proceedings lasted till judgement was delivered on 19-4-2010 by Justice Sathasivam
He also delivered the judgment in the Mumbai blasts case along with Justice B.S.Chauhan where he convicted Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt to five years’ imprisonment under the Arms Act and Dutt was asked to serve out the remaining sentence. In a number of judgments, he cautioned the courts against awarding lesser sentence in crimes against women and children and showing undue sympathy towards the accused by altering the sentence to the extent of period already undergone. Justice Sathasivam's has not delivered the Samacheer kalvi Judgment against the Jayalalithaa Government as wrongly reported in Certain Media (the Judgment was delivered by a bench headed by Justice Chauhan). Justice Sathasivam had only dismissed the earlier appeal filed against the Government during the previous regime.