98 Not Out! - Celebrating 98th Year of Living Legend and his continuing legal learning and dissemination

Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer born on 15th November, 1915, in northern Kerala and educated in Annamalai and Madras Universities, practiced law and defended peasants and workers against the exploitation of the feudal lords who had full support of the colonial regime. In 1956 Mr. Iyer was elected initially to Madras Legislative Assembly and later, after reorganization of States, to the Kerala Assembly, where he was chosen as Minister in charge of Important portfolios like Home, Law, Social Welfare and Irrigation. He was appointed judge of the Kerala High Court in July 1968 and became the Member of the Law Commission of India two years later. In 1973, the Supreme Court of India beckoned him where he played an important role in an era of Judicial activism, public interest litigation, affirmative action through Courts and a wide ranging exercise of judicial review for which the Indian Judiciary is being hailed throughout the world today. Though his tenure in the Apex Court was relatively short, he managed to make a lasting impression on public mind. He is the author of numerous books and has penned innumerable articles and is a leading member of several social organizations and professional bodies. Mr. Justice Iyer is an Honorary Visiting Professor of the National Law School of India University, Bangalore and a promoter of its Community Law Reform Programme. He has been honoured with several coveted awards and distinctions from various organizations around the world. He is the only Indian Judge on whom three doctoral thesis have been written by the scholars in three different Universities. He is the Honorary Patron of Universal Institute of Legal Studies, New Delhi. Justice Iyer is one of the versatile authors who has written on each and every aspect of law and beyond, maintaining lucidity and depicting ocean deep knowledge of the subject. His dynamic and enlightened idea on law and contemporary jurisprudence is a pathmaking source for the present and future judicial system. Out of multifarious activities of his life he always works out the time in writing for law and technosocio matters that becomes the flow of inspiration for the lawyers, judges and the common people, not only in our own land but also in other parts of the world.