CJI Surya Kant presents Madhava Menon memorial award to Attorney General R Venkataramani

Attorney General or India R Venkataramani was conferred with the Madhava Menon Memorial Award on Saturday.

The award, instituted in the memory of the eminent legal educationist Dr. NR Madhava Menon, was presented by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant in Kochi.

The event was organised by the Bar Council of Kerala and the Bar Council of Kerala Advocates Academy for Continuing Legal Education Trust.

In his address, the CJI recalled the contributions of Professor Menon.

CJI Kant said Professor Menon's efforts to establish institutions such as the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, the West Bengal National University of Juridicial Sciences, Kolkata and the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal, were guided by a common vision.

"Each bearing the unmistakable imprint of one conviction: that law, when taught rightly, is an instrument of social transformation, and not merely a licence to practise a trade," the CJI said.

CJI Kant added that Professor Menon's approach to legal education placed the needs of disadvantaged communities at the centre of legal training.

"He gave it life not through legislation, but through education, through curricula and legal aid clinics that placed the poor and the marginalised at the very centre of legal training, rather than leaving them at its periphery," he said.

The CJI also reflected on the relationship between Professor Menon and Attorney General Venkataramani, who had studied under him at Government Law College, Pondicherry.

He said that AG Venkataramani joined the college in 1974, the same year when Professor Menon became its principal, marking the beginning of a lifelong relationship between the teacher and a student.

"It is a teacher’s vision finding vindication in a student’s achievement. A lineage of learning that runs, unbroken, from a small college in Pondicherry to the highest office of legal counsel in the land," the CJI added.

He praised AG Venkataramani's contributions to the legal profession for nearly five decades and said that his measured approach, commitment to principles and unfailing courtesy were qualities developed through years of learning as well as experience.

Presenting the award to AG Venkataramani was particularly meaningful because his achievements reflected the values that Professor Menon had sought to instil in his students.

AG Venkataramani in his acceptance speech spoke about his close association with Professor Menon and the profound influence which the legal academician had on his personal and professional life.

"When I’m getting honoured here, I think he is standing by my side. Hopefully watching beyond my shoulder to see what I’m trying to do even today," AG Venkataramani said.

He also recalled Professor Menon's efforts to promote lawyers’ involvement in social justice and stressed that legal education should go beyond preparing students for courtroom practice.

Kerala High Court Chief Justice Soumen Sen, Sikkim High Court Chief Justice A Muhamed Mustaque, Kerala Advocate General Jaju Babu K, Bar Council of Kerala Chairman, Muraleedharan G Vallakkadavu and Kerala High Court Advocates’ Association President Peeyus A Kottam were among the dignitaries who attended the ceremony.

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