After graduating from the Mahatma Gandhi University with Physics as Main, Sri. Shanmugham obtained his LL.B. and LL.M. Degrees from the Cochin University of Science and Technology with specialisations in Criminal Law, Constitutional Law and Jurisprudence. He is practising as a lawyer specialising in commodity taxation and is frequenting courts and authorities of first instance. An expert in Information Technology Law, he has three publications to his credit. Presently he is pursuing his doctoral research at Cochin University of Science and Technology. He was also the Chairman of the First Commodities Exchange of India.