Visvanathan Ponnan (born 17 August 1960) is a South African judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal.
[2] He was admitted as an advocate of the High Court of South Africa in 1985 and practised at the Durban Bar for the next 16 years.
[1] During that time, between 1995 and 1998, he served on the Judge White Commission, which was established by President Nelson Mandela to investigate the administration of the former TBVC states.
He was also a commissioner of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration between 2000 and 2001, and he was an acting judge in the Eastern Cape High Court in 2000.
[4] He was often noted for his judgements on open justice matters[5][6] and freedom of information,[7][8] and he wrote the court's judgements in prominent matters concerning Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe[9] and the corruption prosecution of former President Jacob Zuma.