Chief Justice Surya Kant presented the Menon memorial award to Attorney General R Venkataramani. The honour celebrated Menon's enduring influence on legal education and public service.Stock photo used for illustrationKochi,Oct 31, 2026 14:36 ISTChief Justice of India Surya Kant on Saturday paid tribute to eminent legal educationist Professor N R Madhava Menon and presented the second Memorial 'Tribute of Honour' Award to Attorney General of India R Venkataramani, news agency Press Trust of India reported.The award, instituted in Menon's memory, was presented at a ceremony in Kochi attended by Kerala High Court Chief Justice Soumen Sen.In his inaugural address, the CJI recalled Menon's contribution to legal education and institution-building in India, saying his vision had shaped generations of lawyers, judges and legal scholars.Menon founded the National Law School of India University in Bengaluru in 1986 and introduced the five-year integrated LLB programme, which transformed legal education in the country, Justice Kant said.
Menon later established the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences in Kolkata and the National Judicial Academy in Bhopal. "Law, when taught rightly, is an instrument of social transformation, and not merely a licence to practise a trade," Justice Kant said.He also highlighted Menon's emphasis on legal aid and his belief that poor and marginalised people should remain at the centre of legal education. The CJI recalled that Menon had enrolled as an advocate at the Kerala High Court before becoming a nationally recognised figure in legal education.
Even during his later years in Kerala, he continued to contribute to the legal fraternity by facilitating continuing education for advocates, Justice Kant said.Speaking about Venkataramani, the CJI said he had joined Government Law College in Pondicherry in 1974, the same year Menon took over as the institution's principal and became his mentor.Describing their association as a lasting teacher-student bond, Justice Kant said Venkataramani had upheld his mentor's values throughout his nearly five-decade career at the Bar.Venkataramani had argued cases involving constitutional law, environmental law, taxation, tribal rights and the rights of women and children before the Supreme Court, the CJI said.Referring to Venkataramani's role as the Union government's chief legal adviser, Justice Kant said the Attorney General had discharged his responsibilities in a measured, principled and courteous manner, according to PTI.The CJI said the award was more than a personal distinction and recognised the enduring legacy of a teacher whose contribution to legal education lived on through his students and the institutions he established."Our truest monuments are not made of stone. They are the minds we shape and the institutions we leave behind," Justice Kant said.The ceremony honoured Venkataramani's legal career while recalling Menon's lasting influence on legal education, his students and the institutions he founded.- Ends