Thiruvananthapuram District Court Bicentennial Celebrations

The Thiruvananthapuram District Court Bicentennial Celebrations are about to be launched from 1^st August, 2011.  Zilla Court at Thiruvananthapuram came into existence in 1811, giving shape and visage a judicial system apart from monarchial administration. It was Colonel Munro, who laid the foundations for a systematic legal system, resulting in the present day scenario. Let’s have a remembrance of those things past.

The administration of justice was always a subject of anxious care on the part of the people of Travancore from the earliest times. In ancient days there was no separate judiciary. The ruler is the head of the State; the supreme Judge and law-giver as well as the head of the executive. This system continued till the time of Dewan Ummini Thampi. He established four courts, Insuaff cutcherries for the dispensation of justice, modelled on the courts of the East India Company. Each court was presided over by a Nayar Judge with a clerical staff under him. But there were neither regulations for the guidance of the courts nor any prescribed procedure for the execution of their decrees. 

In 1811, following the 1808 insurrection against British Cochin and Quilon Colonel Munro succeeded Colonel Macaulay as the Resident in Travancore with supervision over the Kingdom of Cochin. Following an investigation into the rampant lawlessness and the abuse of the system, Colonel Munro surveyed the region with his assistant Captain Blacker and established reforms regarding courts. 

The recommendations made by Col. Munro were accepted by the then Travancore monarch and a Regulation in tune to his recommendations was passed in 1811. In 987 M.E.(1811-12AD) seven Zilla Courts were established and placed under the orders of the Dewan who was the Head of all the departments of the public service. These courts were to enquire into all cases, civil, criminal or police, which were brought before them and report to the Dewan, who passed orders on each case. An Appellate Huzur Court attached to the Dewan’s cutcherry was formed in 990 M.E. (1814) for the hearing of appeals from the decisions of the Zilla Courts. Huzur Court, which functioned as the final appellate Court was later replaced by Sadar Court in 1861. Sadar Court, which possessed almost all the powers of the present High Court of Kerala, continued functioning until 1881. Later in 1887, the High Court of Travancore was established with bench strength of five judges. 

The establishment of this District Court was an important landmark in expanding traditions of judiciary in India. This Court has always been an enduring symbol of the very best in justice rendering and has assiduously maintained the highest standards of excellence, matching the best in the world. 

The Thiruvananthapuram District Court Bicentennial Celebrations are being organized to mark two hundred illustrious years of fostering of public confidence on judiciary. These years showed us how a human institution could render justice without the power of purse and might of sword. The celebrations begin on 1^st August, 2011 and will conclude on 31^st December, 2011. The legal fraternity of Thiruvananthapuram heartily welcomes you all to this august event.