'Kerala HC Is Not Shifting To Anywhere': KHCAA President Objects To Proposal For Shifting Kerala HC To Kalamassery

The President of Kerala High Court Advocates Association (KHCAA), Yeshwanth Shenoy has objected to the decision of the relocation of the Kerala High Court complex from Kochi city to the 27 acres of HMT-owned land in Kalamassery.

The President said that the new proposal will cost not less than 500-1000 crores and that the Government does not even have money that it owes the Bar Council of Kerala which it collected from Advocates.

The Facebook post of the President reads, “I am sharing this one post not in my personal capacity, but in my official capacity as the President of the Kerala High Court Advocates Association. This post of the Hon'ble Minister is a unilateral decision of the government. Though references has been made to the Chief Justice of the High Court of Kerala, it does not mean that the Chief Justice or the Full Court is backing up this 'dream proposal' of the Government." '

...The High Court Building is just about 20 yrs old and is one of the youngest High Court buildings in India. The Kerala Judicial Academy is just about 5 yrs old and so are the many other buildings claimed by the Minister. The total cost of all these buildings are about 500 crores at the least.”

He further wrote that the High Court is not shifting anywhere before an inquiry is set up and people responsible for the 'need to shift' high court are identified and punished. He added that if the government has even 10% of the monies required to set up the Judicial City, he calls upon the government to spend that money to upgrade the facilities to the various courts that is functioning as of today.

“The General Body of the KHCAA has opposed any move to change the location of the High Court and as long as the General Body continues to have this opinion, HIGH COURT OF KERALA is not shifting to KALAMASSERY or elsewhere irrespective of whether it is the Hon'ble Chief Minister or the Law Minister that is Interested in this proposal”, he also said.

The proposed High Court building will accommodate 60 courts, and the overall facilities will cover 28 lakh square feet, designed to meet the future needs of the region. The complex will encompass offices for judges, the advocate general, chambers for lawyers, staff quarters, parking facilities, and amenities for women judges.

The Judicial City will also have bungalows for judges, staff quarters, accommodation facilities for lawyers and a mediation centre.

While the government has identified 27 acres of land for the project, more land will be acquired, if required. The objective is to establish state-of-the-art buildings and systems, including the academy and mediation centre, alongside the High Court.

The High Court authorities first came up with the proposal as the existing facility was facing space constraints. The annual meeting of the Chief Minister and Chief Justice held in Thiruvananthapuram in November last year had reached an informal decision in this regard.