Behind the gavel that sentenced controversial hip-hop artist Sean "Diddy" Combs to 50 months in prison on Friday (local time) was US District Judge (Manhattan) Arun Subramanian.
Over the past year, the Indian-origin judge—the first South Asian to serve as a federal court judge in southern New York—has been an important part of the high-profile "Diddy" trial.
The 55-year-old hip-hop mogul had been convicted of a number of charges, but was pronounced guilty for forcibly transporting his ex-girlfriend Casandra "Cassie" Ventura, as well as a woman known in court by the pseudonym Jane, for the purpose of prostitution.
"This was subjugation, and it drove both Ms Ventura and Jane to thoughts of ending their lives," Subramanian said about Combs, as per a Reuters report.
Desribed by reporters as "adaptable, yet firm", Subramanian has been praised for his stoic control over the court and impartial rulings in a case that garnered intense public scrutiny.
Born in Pittburgh to Tamil Brahmin parents who had emigrated to the US in the 1970s, he pivoted from the computer science field to study law, graduating from Columbia Law School with a professional degree, and earning recognition as a James Kent and Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.
His early career began with a series of clerkships with reputed figures such as Supreme Court Judge Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Gerard Lynch of the Southern District of New York, and Dennis Jacobs of the Second Circuit.
He then took on a wide variety of issues—from anti-trust cases to civil rights litigations—at the litigation firm Susman Godfrey, in which he became a partner later.
One of the greatest highlights of his career was when he was recommended for a federal judgeship by Senator Chuck Schumer, which led to a nomination from former US President Joe Biden in 2022. After clearing Senate requirements, he became a District Judge in 2023.
"The number of people who you reached is incalculable," Subramanian later told the two women who testified in court. However, his work continues, as Combs' lawyer Marc Agnifilo told reporters after the hearing that the sentencing would be challenged.
