Viswanathan upright senior member of bar: Collegium

Born on May 26, 1966, Viswanathan graduated from Coimbatore Law College and enrolled with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu in 1988. After a nearly two-decade-long practice, he became Senior Advocate in 2009.

He represented the petitioners in the plea for marriage equality, arguing that the issue of procreation is not integral to the institution of marriage. He has also argued for petitioners challenging the constitutional validity of Aadhaar — the case in which the SC upheld the right to privacy as a fundamental right.

In March, he wrote an article criticising Law Minister Kiren Rijiju’s comments terming retired judges “anti-India elements” for speaking out against the government. He wrote that questioning the state is not anti-national, and the minister‘s comment is “not just a case of a flawed understanding of concepts but also a matter of great concern for citizens”.

In the case challenging the amendment to extend the term of ED chief Sanjay Kumar Mishra, Viswanathan was appointed an amicus by the court. On May 9, he told the court that the amendment must be scrapped “in the interest of democracy”.

The Collegium mentioned that his appointment would enhance the representation of the bar on the bench. Currently, only Justice P S Narasimha is there who was directly elevated from the bar to a judgeship. Before him, Justices S M Sikri, S C Roy, Kuldip Singh, Santosh Hegde, Rohinton Nariman, U U Lalit, L Nageswara Rao, and Indu Malhotra were other judges who were appointed straight from the bar.

If the recommendation is accepted by the government, Viswanathan, after the retirement of Justice J B Pardiwala, will become the CJI and remain in the post till May 25, 2031.

The writer is an intern with The Indian Express