Kerala Judiciary

The modernization in the judicial system in Kerala began during the time of Colonel Munro who was the British Resident in Travancore. Zilla courts (1811) and Huzur court (1814) were established in Travancore subsequently. The Huzur court is the highest judicial court and also was the final court of appeal in Travancore. The Sardar court replaced this Huzur Court in 1861. Sardar court practically possessed all the powers now exercised by the High Courts. This court existed from 1861 to 1881. The High Court of Travancore was established in 1887. The first chief justice of Travancore High Court is Ramachandra Iyer. He was only 35 years when he became the Chief Justice. Last Chief Justice of Travancore High Court is Puthupally Krishna Pillai. 

Law Courts were established in Cochin for the first time was in 1812 AD during the Diwanship of Col. Munro. Col. Munro established two sub courts one at Thrissur and the other at Tripunithura. Zilla courts and Huzur court were established subsequently. The system of Huzur court continued till 1835. After 1835, the Huzur court was reconstituted as the Raja's Court of Appeal and the subcourts were reconstituted as the Zilla court. In 1900, the Raja's court of appeal was reconstituted as the Chief Court of Cochin. Chief Court of Cochin became the High Court during the Diwanship of Shanmukham Chettiyar. The Thiru-Cochin State came into existence on 1 July 1949. Following this, the High Court of Travancore - Cochin was established with its headquarters at Ernakulam on 7 July 1949. 

Kerala High Court was formed in November 1, 1956, the day on which Kerala State was formed. Its headquarters is at Ernakulam. Only five judges (including Chief Justice) were functioning at that time. High Court consists of permanent judges including the Chief Justice and several Additional Judges. The first Chief Justice of Kerala High Court is Justice K.T.Koshi. 

Judicial System in Kerala

The Indian judicial system is headed by the Supreme Court and the lowest level is the Munsif/Magistrate Courts. At the state level, there are High Courts, District Courts and Subordinate Courts. Article 214 stipulates that there shall be a High Court for each state. The judicial branch of a state includes a High Court and a series of subordinate courts. High Courts are positioned between the Supreme Court and the subordinate courts. The High Courts hold the highest position in the judicial administration of a state. The High Courts exercise the supervisory and control functions of the district courts and the subordinate courts. The District Courts decide disputes arising within a district. The District Courts decide serious criminal offences and the Subordinate Courts decide disputes of a civil and criminal nature. Appeals from the subordinate courts are heard by the District Courts and the High Courts. Subordinate courts/lower courts are the courts that administer justice at the district level and below. The subordinate courts include district courts, sub courts, munsif courts, and magistrate courts.

High Court

The High Courts are the principal civil courts of original jurisdiction in the state along with District courts which are subordinate to the High Courts. Article 214 provides that there shall be a High Court for every State. Articles 214 to 231 of the Constitution deal with the establishment, organisation etc. of the High Court. A High Court consists of a Chief Justice and judges. Judges in a High Court are appointed by the President of India in consultation with the Chief Justice and the Governor of the State. The High court of Kerala act as the court of original jurisdiction and the court of Appellate jurisdiction at the same time. The High Court of kerala have the power of superintendence over all the lower courts of a state except the Military Tribunals. As the head of the judiciary in the state, the High Court has got administrative control over the subordinate in the state.

Lower Courts

The lower courts of High Court are District Courts, Munsif Courts, District Magistrate Courts, I Class, II Class, III Class Magistrate Courts etc. Jurisdiction of a District is under District Sessions Court. Apart from a high court and 14 district courts, Kerala has 80 additional district and sessions courts, 54 sub-courts, 82 Munsif courts, 16 Munsif Magistrate courts and 38 Fast track courts functioning in the State.

Subordinate Courts

Besides the High Court there are number of judicial courts to administer justice. These courts function under the complete control and supervision of the High Court. There are two types of subordinate courts in every district - civil and criminal courts. 

Civil Courts

The court of the district judges is the highest civil court in a district. It exercises both judicial and administrative powers. The court of the district judge is located at the district headquarters. Below the court of the District Judge are the courts of sub judge, Additional sub judge and Munsif Courts. Most of the civil cases are filed in the court of the Munsif. The court of the District Judge has both original and appellate jurisdiction.

Criminal Courts

Under criminal courts, there are courts of the District and Sessions Judge, Additional Sessions Judges, Assistant Session Judge and the courts of the first class magistrates. The district and session judge may pass any legal sentence but a death sentence is subject to confirmation by the High Court. An Assistant - Session Judge has the power to sentence a person to ten years imprisonment. A first class Magistrate may pass a sentence of imprisonment not exceeding two years or a fine not exceeding one thousand ruppees. Besides this there are courts of second class and third class Magistrates also.

Revenue Courts

The Board of Revenue is at the apex of all the revenue courts. Under the Board of Revenue are the Commissioner's Court, Court of Tahsildar and Nayab Tahsildar. Each district has separate courts for its land revenue system. Every dispute related with land revenue first comes before the Court of Tahsildar. The Board of revenue hears the final appeals against all the lower revenue courts under it. For providing speedy and economical justice of the poor and the downtrodden, Legal Aid, Lok Adalat and Public Interest Litigation have been introduced in the country.

Family Courts

The family courts have been established under the Famil Courts Act 1984. Family courts aim at promoting conciliation in and securing speedy settlement of disputes relating to marriage and family affairs. Appeals against the orders of the family courts can be made to the High Court. Under article 136 of the constitution appeals can be presented in the Supreme Court also. There are sixteen family courts in the state.

Special Courts

Two special courts exclusively for the trial of NDPS cases (drug trafficking) are at Thodupuzha and Vadakara. Two special courts for the trial of Abkari Act cases are at Neyyattinkara and Kottarakkara. Special court for the trial of Essential Commodities Act cases is at Thrissur. There are two special courts for the trial of CBI cases. There are 23 Motor Accidents claims Tribunals and 3 Wakf Tribunals in the State.

Kerala Administrative Tribunal

Kerala Administrative Tribunal (KAT) is situated at Thiruvananthapuram. It is established on 22nd December 2011. Kerala Administrative Tribunal consists of three judicial members including the chairman, and three non judicial members. Of the three benches, two will be based in Trivandrum and one in Kochi. The trivandrum benches will handle the cases from south kerala and kochi bench will handle the cases from north Kerala. It deals all the service related cases of State Government employees.

Lok Adalat (People's Courts)

Lok Adalat in Kerala was started on November 15, 1988. Lok Adalat settles dispute through conciliation and compromise. Lok Adalat is conducted by Kerala State Legal Services Authority. Permanent Lok Adalat is located at Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam. High Court Legal Service Committee is conducting regular Adalat on all working days.

Nyaya Panchayats

In some states in certain grama sabhas the Nyaya Panchayats have been organised. The jurisdiction of nyaya panchayats (or panchayats) varies from state to state. However, a panchayat tries only petty civil suits relating to movable property and minor offences. Offences such as petty thefts, trespass, unauthorised occupation of public places, cheating and assault fall within the jurisdiction of a panchayat. The panchayats have no power to imprison a person, they can only fine upto Rs. 1000.

Lakshadweep Courts

Kerala High Court is the High Court for Lakshadweep. Munsiff - Magistrate Court is functioning in Amini and Androth. District and Session Court is located in Kavaratti.

Kerala Judicial Academy

Directorate of Training started in 1986 became the Kerala Judicial Academy in 2005. Its headquarters is at Ram Mohan Palace, Kochi. It deals with Judicial education, training and research. Chief Justice of High Court is the chief patron of this Academy.

Juvenile Homes

Children between 5 and 18 years are lodged here. In Kerala, there are 6 Juvenile Homes, 14 Observation Homes, One Balasadanam and 2 special homes.

Ombudsman

Its headquarters is at Trivandrum. Ombudsman was setup only for Local Self Government Institutions started functioning in the year 2000. Ombudsman is headed by Retd. Judge of the High Court. This is a high powered quasi judicial body functioning at the state level. Ombudsman conducts investigations and enquire into instances of mal administration, corruption, favouritism, nepotism, lack of integrity, excessive action, inaction, abuse of position against local governments in Kerala or the functionaries working under them.

Kerala State Legal Services Authority (KELSA)

KELSA is providing legal aid to poor, weak and the marginalized sections of the society for establishing their constitutional and legal rights. KELSA consist of panel of lawyers, specialised in various fields to give legal aids. The Moto of KELSA is "Access to justice for all". It also conducts Lok Adalats and give effect to the policies and direction of NALSA (National Legal Service Authority). Legal literacy class at school, college levels for women's self help groups 'Kudumbasree' are by NALSA conducted. District Judge of 14 Districts are officiated as chairman of District Legal Services Authorities (DLSA). 62 Taluk Legal Service Committees are being officiated by the senior most Judicial Officers of the respective centres.

Lok Ayukta

The Lok Ayukta was formed under the Kerala Lok Ayukta Act, 1999 (Act 8 of 1999). Lok Ayukta investigates into the allegations of corruption and mal-administration against public servants and for the speedy redressal of grievances of the public. Its headquarters is at Thiruvananthapuram. Lok Ayukta must either be a former judge of the Supreme Court or a Chief Justice of a High Court. The Lok Ayukta and Upa Lok Ayukta are appointed on the advice of the Chief Minister in consultation with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and the Leader of the Opposition. Their term of appointment is five years. Lok Ayukta possess the powers of Civil Courts.

Chief Justice

Chief Justice is the head of the High Court. Article 216 of the Indian Constitution mandates that every High Court must consist of a Chief Justice. Chief Justice is appointed by the President of India and are responsible for the judicial administration. The chief justice serves until the age of 65 or if removed early by the constitutional process of impeachment. The first women chief justice of kerala high court is Sujata V. Manohar (1994). The first malayalee women chief justice of kerala High Court is KK.Usha.

Note: The first judge from Kerala to become the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is Justice KG Balakrishnan. He is the first Dalit Chief Justice in the Supreme Court.

High Court Judge

Judges in a High Court are appointed by the President of India in consultation with the Chief Justice and the Governor of the State. The number of judges in a court is decided by dividing the average institution of main cases during the last five years by the national average or the average rate of disposal of main cases per judge per year in that High Court, whichever is higher. The judges of the High Courts of India can remain in office till the age of sixty two. The judges of the High Court must be an Indian Citizen and must have ten years of experience in adjudication or in legal practice. The proposal of removal of the judges must be passed by a two thirds majority of the members present in the legislature. The proposal then shall be sent to the President for his assent. The President will then ask the judge to resign. The first women high court judge in India and also in commonwealth countries is Justice Anna Chandy. She is also the first woman judge in a distruct court (1937) and also the first women in getting the law degree in Travancore state. The first high court judge who resign in service is VV. Giri.

Note: The first female judge in the supreme court of india (1989) is Justice Fathima Beevi. She is the first muslim woman to be appointed to any higher judiciary in India. The last supreme court judge to have previously served as a politician is Justice VR Krishna Iyer. In 1952, he was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly. In 1957, he became minister (law, power, prison, irrigation and social welfare) in the first communist government in Kerala. The first malayalam judge of the supreme court (1956-57) is Justice P.Govinda Menon. He was the first principal of the Kerala Law Academy. The India's first women magistrate is Omanakunjamma. She is also the Kerala's first female IAS officer.

Advocate General

The Advocate General (AG) for each state is appointed by the Governor under the Article 165 (1) of the constitution. Advocate General is a legal adviser to a state government. The Advocate General and his office defends and protects the interest of the State Government in High Court. The first advocate general is KV. Sooryanarayana Ayyar.