KOCHI: Former Supreme Court Judge and Chief Justice of Patna High Court Justice K S Paripoornan passed away in Kochi on Wednesday. He was 83. He was admitted to hospital on Tuesday night after he suffered from severe vomiting, high blood pressure, poor urine output and breathing difficulties. “Justice Paripoornan who was brought to hospital in a critical condition and put on life supporting system breathed his last at 9.05 pm on Wednesday night,” said hospital authorities.
Justice Krishnaswami Sundara Paripoornan was born on June 12, 1932 as the son of renowned lawyer Krishnaswami Ayyangar of Thiruvananthapuram.
Paripoornan, who had secured degree in law from Madras Law College and enrolled as advocate in the High Court of Travancore-Cochin, started practising under his father in 1956. He had been junior to the late Thycaud Subrahmania Aiyer. Justice Varadarajan was his father-in-law and Advocate Nambi Aiyangar, his uncle.In the High Court of Kerala and occasionally in the Supreme Court and Tribunal, he had practised in Civil, Taxation and also general matters. He was appointed Chief Justice of the Patna High Court on January 1, 1994 and elevated a judge in the Supreme Court on June 11, 1994. After retirement in June,1997, he had been living in Kochi at Anantha Bhavan on Amman Kovil Road.
Justice Paripoornan, who was an expert in tax-related cases, had made important judgments in Devaswom-related cases. He had ordered to conduct inquiry on Travancore-Kochi Devaswom Board that gained applause. In 2007, the Kerala High Court appointed Justice Paripoornan as the head of a three-member Commission to inquire into allegations of corruption and malpractice in the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), including allegations against the Sabarimala Temple.
Justice Paripoornan Commission which grilled members of Sabarimala Tantri family, was critical of the tantri’s credentials and came down heavily on the temple officials for misconduct and mismanagement.
The Commission wanted to make matriculation the minimum qualification for the posts in the temple. The Commission observed that political appointments were the root cause of issues in the hill shrine and asked the government to de-politicise temple administration.
The Commission wanted a high-level officer in-charge of the temple administration.