Dr. NR Madhava Menon conferred Padma Bhushan posthumously

President of India Ram Nath Kovind on Monday presented Padma Bhushan to Dr. NR Madhava Menon posthumously.

He was conferred award for his contribution in the field of public affairs. Menon's wife Rama Menon received award on his behalf.

Dr. Menon was known for revolutionising legal education in the country by establishing the National Law School of India University (NSLIU), Bangalore and introducing the 5-year integrated LLB programme.

He was born in 1935 and obtained his B.Sc. and B.L. degrees from Kerala University. He completed his LL.M. and Ph.D. from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and MA from Punjab University. Dr. Menon enrolled as an Advocate in Kerala High Court in 1956.

He then moved to academics and joined the AMU as faculty in 1960 before working as Professor at the Campus Law Centre.

He also served on deputation as Principal of Government Law College, Pondicherry and Secretary of the Bar Council of India Trust.

In 1986, Dr. Menon moved to Bangalore at the invitation of Bar Council of India to set up the National Law School of India University wherein, the Five-Year Integrated LL.B. programme was initiated. He served NLSIU as its Founding Vice-Chancellor for 12 years.

Subsequently, he was invited by the West Bengal Government to establish a similar law school in Kolkata. This led to the establishment of West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences where he served as the Vice-Chancellor from 1998 to 2003.

He was also asked by the Supreme Court to set up National Judicial Academy in Bhopal.

He also served two terms as Member of the Law Commission of India. He was Member of the Committee on Criminal Justice Reform and the Committee on Restructuring of Higher Education in India.

Dr. Menon had earlier been conferred with the Padma Shri in 2003 for outstanding public services. He authored several books on Indian legal education, legal profession and judicial training.

He passed away in May 2019.