Former Supreme Court judge PV Reddy has been appointed chairman of the Law Commission. His name was cleared by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet eight months after Justice AR Lakshmanan retired as the head of the law panel which provides legal advice to the government.

The Law Ministry had recommended the name of 70-year-old Justice Reddy, who retired as Supreme Court judge in August 2005. The major judgements delivered by him include the 2001 Parliament attack case and the bench headed by him had upheld the death sentence of Mohammad Afzal.

Reddy had earlier served as Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court.

After the term of Justice Lakshmanan ended on July 31, 2009, the Ministry had recommended the name of Justice Reddy for the post.

Law Minister M Veerappa Moily wanted another former Supreme Court judge B N Srikrishna to head the panel but he reportedly declined the offer, sources said.

Justice Srikrishna now heads the committee to look into the demands for a separate Telangana state.