KOCHI: Ombudsman for Local Bodies Justice KP Radhakrishna Menon will be remembered as a person who delivered instant justice to the general public suffering from the misdeeds of those in power. Be it repairing a faulty public water tap or correcting a wrong decision taken by the local bodies, Radhakrishna Menon acted fast.
It was during his tenure as the Ombudsman in 2002-05 that many realised the power of the post. At a time when Kochi city was stinking with garbage, he asked the Kochi Corporation to find an immediate solution to the problem.
“When the Corporation authorities continued to show apathy, he warned them that the Council will be dissolved if they did not come up with a solution to the waste disposal issue. Soon, the Kerala High Court took up the issue and gave many sleepless nights to those in power in the Corporation. And finally, the Brahmapuram Solid Waste Treatment Plant became a reality,” advocate Sasidharan said.
Disposing off a petition filed before him while he was the Ombudsman, he asked the local body to pay compensation for a person whose property was attached by the bank.
The man from Kizhakkambalam had mortgaged his land to raise the additional amount as the local body offered him a loan for constructing the house, Sasidharan said. But the local body backtracked on the promise and he could not complete the construction of the house. Justice Radhakrishna Menon directed the local body to pay compensation to the man, he said.
When the authorities failed to repair a public water tap in Kalamassery he got it repaired by the Kerala Water Authority officials the very next day.
After taking degree in law, Radhakrishna Menon started his career as an advocate in Kozhikode in the 1950s. He began his career as a junior advocate working under his older brother, advocate K P Achutha Menon, who was the public prosecutor in the Rajan case. Later, he shifted his base to Kochi in the 1960s. He became the Kerala High Court Judge in 1984 and continued in office till 1991.
Though he headed two inquiry commissions, including the mark list scam in the Calicut University, neither of them saw the light of day as the authorities kept them under the wraps.
Radhakrishna Menon was the legal advisor of the king of Travancore and was the founder vice-president of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
He also associated himself with various organisations like Sai Seva Samithy. It was during his stint as the office-bearer of Helpage India at the national level that the organisation became more active in Kochi.
Tributes paid to Ombudsman
Hundreds paid last respect to Justice K P Radhakrishna Menon when his body was brought to his house at Kaloor on Sunday. Later, his body was cremated at the Ravipuram crematorium. People from all walks of life, including Opposition leader Oommen Chandy and District Collector Sheik Pareeth, paid last respect.
Radhakrishna Menon, 83, of Karumath Pullaram, had been suffering from heart ailments. He was under treatment at Apollo hospital in Chennai for the last two months and was staying with his daughter Radhika.
Born to Nanikkutty Amma and Sankara Menon at Anakkara in Palakkad, he shifted his base to Kochi in the 1960s.
Besides daughter Radhika, he is survived by wife Malukkutty and daughter Kshema. L Nagaresh, national executive committee member of Bharatiya Abhibhashaka Parishad, condoled the death.