K.V. Chandran

Justice Krishna Vinod Chandran was born on 25 April 1963 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. He is the 16th judge from Kerala to be elevated to the top court.

Justice Chandran completed his schooling at Raajgiri English School. He graduated with a degree in science in the year 1984. He took up a job at the State Bank of Travancore before resigning to study law at the Kerala Law Academy Law College, Thiruvananthapuram.

Career as an Advocate

Justice Chandran started his practice at Paravoor in 1991. He later shifted to the High Court of Kerala. During his practice, he served as a Special Government Pleader (Taxes) for the Government of Kerala from 2007 to 2011. 

Career as a Judge

He was elevated as an Additional Judge of Kerala High Court on 8 November 2011 and was made permanent on 24 June 2013. Justice Chandran served for more than 11 years as a judge at the Kerala High Court.

On 28 September 2022, the Collegium recommended Justice Chandran’s transfer to the Bombay High Court. However, the recommendation was not cleared. On 13 December 2022, Justice Chandran was recommended as the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court. This recommendation was modified on 7 February proposing Justice Chandran as Chief Justice of the Patna High Court. He took oath as Chief Justice of the Patna High Court on 29 March 2023. 

On 7 January 2025, the Collegium led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, recommended Justice Chandran to be elevated to the top court. The Collegium considered his parent High Court—Kerala to ensure regional diversity at the Court after Justice C.T. Ravikumar’s retirement on 5 January 2025. The recommendation also observed that he was the seniormost judge in the Kerala High Court and was at SI No. 13 in the all India seniority of High Court judges. 

On 16 January 2025, Justice Chandra assumed office as a Supreme Court judge. He will retire in April 2028 after a 3.25 year long tenure. 

Notable Judgements 

In Youth for Equality v State of Bihar (2023), Patna High Court’s Division Bench comprising Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice Partha Sarathy held that the Bihar caste survey was valid. 

The bench reasoned that the state’s action was “initiated with due competence”, and did not violate the “rights of privacy of the individual especially since it is in the furtherance of a compelling public interest’’.The High Court relied on Indra Sawhney v Union of India (1992), which recognised that there can be a reasonable method and procedure for the identification of backwardness in society. A petition challenging the Patna High Court’s decision is pending in the Supreme Court.

In Gaurav Kumar v State of Bihar, the Patna High Court dealt with the constitutionality of two amendments brought by the Bihar Legislative Assembly. On 9 November 2023, the Bihar Legislative Assembly passed the Bihar (In Admission in Educational Institutions) Reservation (Amendment) Act, 2023 and the Bihar Reservation Of Vacancies In Posts And Services (For Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes And Other Backward Classes) (Amendment) Act, 2023. The Amendments increased reservations for EBC, OBC, SC, and ST communities from 50 to 65 percent in educational institutions and government jobs. 

On 20 June 2024, the Patna High Court declared both Amendments unconstitutional. The Division Bench led by Justice Chandran highlighted that “adequate representation now exists and there is no valid ground for breach of 50 [percent] rule; which in any way is not permissible.” Relying on the Caste Survey report, the High Court noted that backward classes, including SC and ST communities, already occupied 68.52 percent of government employment posts. The High Court also noted that the Caste Survey report did not provide sufficient grounds for this breach and criticised the lack of analysis on the economic and social status of castes before extending reservations.