Kerala lost three legal luminaries in a fortnight

Death is an inevitable phenomenon for every person. But, when it happens one after another, causing loss of equal dimensions and moreover from a single professional arena, the above philosophy will not be enough to pacify the mourners or weepers. Kerala lost three legal pundits between March 20 and April 3, hardly a fortnight time. Interestingly they all are from the same city, Kochi.

Former Advocate General K P Dandapani (79) breathed his last on March 20, 2023. He has served as the former Additional Judge, Kerala High Court. He started legal practice in 1968. Senior Counsel of Southern Railway and Member of Kerala High Court Legal Service Authority Committee, etc. are some of the major positions he had shouldered during his extraordinary legal life. His wife, Sumati Dandapani, is a designated Senior lawyer in Kerala High Court. After a stint as the Additional Judge, he came back to active legal practice in 1996 and continued it until his last breath. Dandapani and Sumati were the first lawyer couple in Kerala High Court.

The next obit was of Adv Govind K Bharatan (84) on April 1, 2023. He was the Senior lawyer designate in Kerala High Court and a dedicated Sangh Swayamsevak. He started practice in Kerala High Court in 1970. He had served as the Senior Central Government Standing Counsel in Kerala High Court. He is the former Kerala State President of Abhibhashaka Parishad, the Kerala chapter of Akhil Bharatiya Adhivaktha Parishad and State patron of the organisation during the last few years of his life. He was an expert in Constitution, Civil, Service Matters and Sports Authority of India affairs. He was the standing counsel of Chinmaya Mission and former Ernakulam Lions Club Secretary, and a sculptor. He had proved his mettles in temple rituals and legal affairs with respect to temples. He always stood for the interests of devotees and tried his long years for the liberation of the temples from the clutches of Dewaswoms controlled by political leaders who do not believe in the Hindu faith and traditions. Bharatan joined Sangh when he got involved in the organisation of Vishal Hindu Sammelan in Kochi in 1982. Spearheaded by the great Sangh pracharaks, late P Madhavji and late P Parameshwarji, Sammelan was a great leap forward towards Hindu unity in the State. All Hindu community organisations took an active part in the programme which was graced by Swami Chinmayanandaji, the then Sarkaryavah of RSS Prof Rajendra Singh aka Rajju Bhaiyya and Dr Karan Singh.

The third one was Justice Thottathil B Radhakrishnan (63), former acting Chief Justice Kerala High Court and Chief Justice in the High Courts of Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, who left for heavenly abode on April 3, 2023. An ardent Sangh Swayamsevak, Thottathil took the active initiative in matters concerning the Dewaswom Board, mental health centres in the State and the welfare of the aged people. He was an active ABVP worker during his college days. He has served as the president of Kochi’s prestigious International Book Festival. His mother late, K Parukkutty Amma, was a devoted worker of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and had donated her entire properties for various Sangh-inspired organisations. The legal veteran was known for his soft-spoken and mild character.