B. N. Srikrishna

Srikrishna was born in Bangalore, to B. Narayanaswamy and his wife, Sharadamma. His father, B. Narayanaswamy was a lawyer, practising at the Bombay High Court. Srikrishna was brought up in Bombay (now Mumbai) and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Science from the Elphinstone College of the University of Bombay, received a Bachelor of Laws from the Government Law College, Mumbai, a Master of Laws from the University of Bombay, and stood second in the university. In addition, he holds a Master of Arts degree in Sanskrit from the University of Mysore, a diploma in Urdu and a postgraduate diploma in Indian Aesthetics from the University of Bombay. He knows ten languages including his mother tongue, Kannada.

In 1967, Srikrishna entered commenced his practice at the Bombay High Court, specialising in labour and industrial law. He was engaged as a counsel for a number of large corporations. Besides appearing in the High Court, he also argued cases before the Supreme Court of India and was designated as a Senior Advocate in 1987.

Srikrishna was appointed as an additional judge of the Bombay High Court in 1990 and as a permanent judge in 1991. In 1993, he assumed charge of the Commission of Inquiry into the riots that took place in Bombay in 1992–93. The Srikrishna Commission submitted its report in 1998.

In September 2001, Srikrishna was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court and on 3 October 2002, he was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of India. On 21 May 2006, on reaching the age of superannuation of sixty-five years, he retired from the Supreme Court.

Srikrishna is a connoisseur of art, culture, drama, and classical music, in general, and Carnatic music in particular. He tries to find time to pursue what he says is his "real passion" — Indian classical music and culture. He is married to Purnima and has two daughters, Sushma and Sowmya.

Srikrishna headed a one-man commission to inquire about the 19 February 2009 Madras High Court incidents. He submitted an interim report on 4 March 2009 with his findings to the Supreme Court of India.

He is interested in refugee law and human rights issues, and besides being a member of the International Association of Refugee Law Judges, has presented papers on the subject. He was invited by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to Geneva for a seminar on New Forms of Persecution in 2000, and on the Justiciability of Economic, Social and Cultural rights to New Delhi in 2001.

His study of Indian Philosophy & Jurisprudence, has also published a number of articles on the subject, including an article on "Conflict and Harmony: The Genesis of Legal and Social Systems", which is published in the journal, History of Science and Philosophy of Science. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of the Indian Law Institute.

He is a Life Member of the National Institute of Personnel Management, is also associated with the Western Region Committee of the Employers Federation of India, the Industrial Relations Research Association (USA), and the International Bar Association (UK).