Justice MS Janarthanam: A quiet titan of social justice

I never imagined I would one day write a tribute to a judge who had already retired by the time I stepped into first grade. Yet here I am, reflecting on the remarkable life of Justice MS Janarthanam, who passed away quietly and without fanfare at the age of 89 on June 6, 2025.

His legacy has now come to define the deeper meaning of social justice in Tamil Nadu.

Born and raised in verdant Cauvery delta, Janarthanam’s journey began far from the ivory towers of law. He was a practising criminal lawyer in Cuddalore district who handled nearly 500 trial cases - many involving serious offences - before he joined the district judicial service. From there, he rose through the ranks from district judge to Registrar of the Madras High Court, and eventually became a judge of the very same Court. Post-retirement, his public service continued as the President of the Tamil Nadu State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission and, significantly, as Chairman of the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes Commission.

To the untrained eye, this may seem like a conventional judicial career. But what set Justice Janarthanam apart was not just the offices he held - it was the spirit in which he held them. The State decided to confer upon him full honours, “in recognition of his contributions to social justice.” The State rarely bestows such honours on retired High Court judges. One is reminded of exceptions such as Justice DS Sinha, former Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court and Gujarat’s first Human Rights Commission Chairperson and Justice KK Usha, Kerala’s first woman Chief Justice from the Bar. Justice Janarthanam’s inclusion in this rarefied list tells us all we need to know—his legacy transcended the letter of the law and touched its spirit.

On the morning of June 11, 2025, I noticed a quiet announcement: a portrait of Justice Janarthanam was to be unveiled at Thidal, with his family in attendance. That same day, the Madras High Court held a full court reference in his honour. Something stirred within me. This was not just another ceremonial function, it was a moment to remember a jurist who shaped our present understanding of “justice as fairness”.

When Tamil Nadu’s 69% reservation policy faced intense constitutional scrutiny, it was Janarthanam’s meticulous reports - anchored in constitutional reasoning and empirical data - that fortified the legal edifice of the State’s affirmative action. He was not content with broad strokes; he demanded nuance. Long before the courts recognised it as doctrine, he called for sub-classification within backward classes, arguing that the backwardness of a BC (Muslim) or an SC (Arunthathiyar) could not be treated as identical to that of other groups. His vision anticipated debates that would later unfold in the Supreme Court, ultimately vindicating his prescience.

In 2009, the Tamil Nadu government enacted a law granting 3% internal reservation for the Arunthathiyar community within the existing 18% quota for Scheduled Castes, acting on the recommendations of the Backward Classes Commission led by Justice Janarthanam. The legislation grouped seven SC sub-castes - Arunthathiyar, Chakkiliyar, Madari, Madiga, Pagadai, Thoti and Adi Andhra - under the umbrella of ‘Arunthathiyars’ for preferential treatment in education and public employment. In a landmark ruling delivered in August 2024, a seven-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in State of Punjab v. Davinder Singh upheld the constitutional validity of sub-classification, affirming the State’s power to ensure equitable distribution within reserved categories.

In a political environment where changes in government often bring sweeping changes in appointments, Janarthanam’s tenure as Chairman of the Backward Classes Commission was remarkably stable. When the AIADMK came to power, replacing the DMK, he was retained. This was an unprecedented endorsement of his impartiality and credibility. This continuity reflected a trust built not on political affiliations, but on principled service — a testament to his dedication to fairness above factionalism.

At the portrait unveiling, tributes flowed not in grandiosity, but in warmth and sincerity. Justice KN Basha recalled his lawyer years before Janarthanam, recounting an unforgettable case of a woman who survived a suicide attempt that tragically took the lives of her two children, only to find herself accused of their murder. He stated that Justices David Annoussamy and MS Janarthanam approached the case with a rare blend of firmness and empathy, demonstrating a deep sense of humanity. “Recognizing the woman’s distress and the underlying socio-economic factors,” he added, “they revised the conviction from Section 302 IPC to 304 Part I,” persuaded by the arguments presented by NT Vanamalai, a doyen of criminal Bar who was engaged by amicus Basha.

Justice S Baskaran, former Chairperson of the State Human Rights Commission, reflected on Janarthanam’s tenure as Registrar General, remembering a man who ran the Court with discipline, but always with compassion.

In a world increasingly enamoured by noise, Janarthanam remained a man of quiet conviction. His judgments were oddly headline-grabbing, yet they brimmed with moral clarity and legal depth. He understood that justice is not merely an idea, it is a lived experience for those it serves.

And perhaps most significantly, he lived his beliefs. A rationalist to the end, he eschewed ceremonial rites even in death. His family honoured his final wishes, declining religious rituals - a personal affirmation of the secular and rationalist ideals he championed in public life.

In remembering Justice Janarthanam, we are reminded that the true measure of a jurist is not the title they hold, but the principles they defend. His life was not a parade of positions, but a sustained pursuit of equality, whether in a trial court, a commission, or the High Court Bench.

As former President of the Supreme Court of Israel Aharon Barak once wrote,

“The rule of law is not merely public order: the rule of law is social justice based on public order. The law exists to ensure proper social life. Social life, however, is not a goal in itself, but a means to allow the individual to live in dignity and develop himself.”

Justice Janarthanam embodied this creed. His life reminds us that justice, when unmoored from social conscience, is mere procedure. But when tethered to empathy, reason and moral courage, it has the power to transform lives.

Few judges are remembered not for what they decided, but for the convictions that shaped those decisions. Justice Janarthanam stands tall among them - his legacy etched in the pursuit of justice that spoke not just to the letter of the law, but to the dignity of those it serves.

Dhileepan Pakutharivu is an advocate practicing before the Madras High Court.

The views expressed here are solely personal and should not be attributed in any manner to any professional institutions that the author is affiliated.