Politician and Lawyer
NAME: P. Govinda Menon.
PROFESSION: Politician, Lawyer.
BORN: 1 October, 1906.
DIED: 23 May, 1970.
PLACE OF BIRTH: Kakkad near Chalakudy, District of Thrissur in Kerala.
FATHER’S NAME: Kumarapilly Krishna Menon.
MOTHER’S NAME: Madhavi Amma.
EDUCATION: BA ( Honours) from Tiruchirappalli St Joseph College, Law from Madras Law College.
COMMITTEE/PANEL HEADED: Member of the Lok Sabha, Member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, Member of the Constituent Assembly of India (1947–1950), and Member of the Steering Committee of the Constituent Assembly of India.
BACKGROUND: Govinda Menon was born in the village of Kakkad which on the left back of the Chalakudy River, in the district of Thrissur in Kerala, India. He was the fourth son of Kumarapilly Krishna Menon and Madhavi Amma. He grew-up under the wings of his uncle Kunjunni Menon.
UPBRINGING & EDUCATION: Govinda Menon grew-up under the wings of his uncle Kunjunni Menon. He studied at the Paliyam School from Second Standard to the Seventh Standard. Then, he moved to Chalakudy high school as a result. As a student he also pasrticpated in the Vaikom Satyagraha.
While he was in school Govinda excelled in public speaking, and in literary events.He continued to excel in many fields and always came first in college level competitions in a range of activities such as English Oratory, Malayalam Oratory etc.After completing his intermediate from St Thomas College, he went to Tiruchirappalli St Joseph College for his BA (Honours) and then to Madras Law College for his Bachelor of Law degree.
WALK OF LIFE AS JURIST: Govinda Menon started his legal practice as a junior to Adv. M. C. Joseph. He was the first treasurer of Kerala Yukthivadi Sangham. He moved his practice to Ernakulam afterwards. He became Union Minister for Law and Railways (1969–1970).
CAREER TIMELINE: After practice, he became prominent in the politics of the Kingdom of Cochin and served briefly as the Prime Minister of Cochin state in 1947.
After the union of Travancore and Cochin, he served as minister for education under Parur T. K. Narayana Pillai and minister for finance under A. J. John, Anaparambil.
He was the Chief Minister of Travancore-Cochin in 1955–1956.
He represented Mukundapuram (Lok Sabha constituency) from 1962 until his death.
He became Union Minister for Law and Railways (1969–1970) and Minister of state for Food and Agriculture.
He was also the political mentor of K. Karunakaran.
LANDMARK JUDGEMENTS: Ayipala Venkataraya Chetty vs Ayipala Ramachandriah Chetty And … on 25 April, 1969
Krishna Kutty Nair vs Industrial Tribunal, Trivandrum on 7 February, 1957
Pallasanna Haneefa vs State Of Kerala on 17 January, 1966.
REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENT: A.P.J Abdul Kalam inaugurated birth centenary celebrations of Panampilly Govinda Menon, in 2006.
A college was built in Chalakudy named Panampilly Memorial Government College in his memory.
