Ratnavel Pandian

The Honourable
Justice S Ratnavel Pandian
Judge, Supreme Court of India
In office
14 December 1988 – 12 March 1994
Appointed byR. Venkataraman
(President of India)
Chief Justice(s)Raghunandan Swarup Pathak (1986-89)
E.S. Venkataramiah (1989)
Sabyasachi Mukharji
(1989-90)
Ranganath Misra (1990-91)
Kamal Narain Singh (1991)
Madhukar Hiralal Kania
(1991-92)
Lalit Mohan Sharma (1992-93)
Manepalli Narayanarao Venkatachaliah (1993-94)
Chief Justice, Madras High Court
Personal details
Born(1929-03-13)13 March 1929
Died28 February 2018(2018-02-28) (aged 88)
SpouseLalitha
ChildrenRatnavel Pandian Subbiah (son)
Alma materMadras University (BA), (BL)
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Justice S. Rathinavel Pandian (13 March 1929 - 28 February 2018) was a judge of the Supreme Court of India. He was among the nine judges on the Constitution Bench which heard the famous Mandal Commission Case "Indira Sawhney vs Union of India". In that judgment delivered in 1992, the reservation for the backward classes was affirmed.

On August 14, 2006, Justice Pandian took charge as the Chairman of the National Commission for Backward Classes. He was given the status of a Cabinet Minister during his tenure, until 2009.