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K. K. Mathew

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Hon'ble Justice
Kuttyil Kurien Mathew
Chairman, 10th Law Commssion of India
In office
1981–1985
Appointed byNeelam Sanjiva Reddy
Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi
Preceded byP. V. Dixit (9th)
Succeeded byDhirjlal Ambelal Desai (11th)
Judge of Supreme Court of India
In office
4 October 1971  2 January 1976
Nominated bySarv Mittra Sikri
Appointed byV. V. Giri
Judge of Kerala High Court
In office
5 June 1962  3 October 1971
Nominated byB. P. Sinha
Appointed byS. Radhakrishnan
Advocate General of Kerala
In office
1 November 1960  4 June 1962
Appointed byV. V. Giri
Chief MinisterPattom A. Thanu Pillai
Preceded byK. V. Suryanarayana Iyer
Succeeded byV. P. Gopalan Nambiyar
Personal details
Born(1911-01-03)3 January 1911
Died2 May 1992(1992-05-02) (aged 81)
ChildrenK. M. Joseph (son)
EducationGovernment Law College, Thiruvananthapuram (LL.B)

Kuttyil Kurien Mathew (3 January 1911 – 2 May 1992) was a judge of the Supreme Court of India[1] highly regarded for his scholarship and for his seminal contribution to the constitutional and administrative law in India.[2][3] He later served as the Tenth Law Commission Chairman[4] and also as the Chairman of the Second Press Commission.

Early life

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Mathew was born on 3 January 1911 at Athirampuzha, Kerala. He hailed from Kuttiyil family of Athirampuzha in Kottayam district, Kerala. He completed his LL.B from Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram. He joined bar at Kottayam in 1935 and after some years moved to Trivandrum, seat of the high court of erstwhile Travancore state. He was a junior to A. J. John, who went on to serve as chief minister of Travancore–Cochin and governor of Madras State. In 1956 he shifted his practice to newly established High Court of Kerala and went on to become the advocate general of Kerala from 1 November 1960 to 4 June 1962.[5]

He was appointed as Judge in the Kerala High Court on 5 June 1962[6] and served in such capacity till his appointment as Judge of Supreme Court of India on 4 October 1971. He was a member of the 13 judge bench hearing Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala case and delivered minority opinion. He retired from Supreme Court on 2 January 1976.[5]

His son Kuttyil Mathew Joseph also served as a judge of the Kerala Court from 2004 to 2014. In August 2018, while serving as the ninth Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court, Justice Joseph was recommended as a Supreme Court judge and served as such from 2018 to 2023[7]

Post retirement

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He was appointed as the Chairman of the 10th Law Commission of India in 1981 and served till 1985. He also headed second Press Commission and Lalit Narayan Mishra Enquiry Commission. He passed away on 2 May 1992.[8]

References

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  1. "Justice Kuttyil Kurien Mathew | Supreme Court of India | India". www.sci.gov.in. Archived from the original on 18 February 2026. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
  2. Nariman, Fali S. (1 May 2017). "Guided by the Constitution". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  3. Bench, Bar & (25 August 2017). "Justice KK Mathew – The Unsung Hero of Article 12 Jurisprudence". Bar and Bench - Indian Legal news. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  4. "LAW COMMISSION'S REPORTS | Law Commission of India | India". Retrieved 24 July 2026.
  5. 1 2 Advocate, V. Sudhish Pai, Senior (2 May 2026). "Justice K.K. Mathew-Lest We Forget". www.livelaw.in. Retrieved 24 July 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. "Appointment of K. K. Mathew as Judge of Kerala High Court".
  7. "Who is Justice Kuttiyil Mathew Joseph?". The Indian Express. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  8. "Eastern Book Company - Practical Lawyer". ebc-india.com. Retrieved 24 July 2026.