A postgraduate in medicine and a graduate in law, Dr. Kanthaswamy was the Police Surgeon and Medico-Legal Adviser to the Government of Kerala. He has served as Professor of Forensic Medicine at various medical colleges in India and abroad. He was the Principal of the Government Medical Colleges at Kottayam and Trissur. Having served as a W.H.O. Fellow in Educational Science in U.K. and U.S.A., he is the Honorary Adviser and Professor Emeritus of the Department of Medical Education, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences.