A high level meeting involving Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan , Kerala High Court Chief Justice A.J. Desai and other judges held here on Sunday decided to establish a judicial city at Kalamassery in Kochi.
The decision to set up the judicial city was announced by the Chief Minister after the high level meeting.
Besides shifting the Kerala High Court to the judicial city, it would have a judicial academy,mediation centre and international level legal institutions. The proposed High Court building at the city would have as many as 60 court halls. Moreover, it would also have judges’ offices, Advocate General’s office, staff quarters, and lawyers’ chambers, according to a press release issued by the government.
The meeting was of the opinion that Kalamassery is the most convenient and suitable place to set up a judicial city considering its accessibility and geographical importance. It also formulated a plan of action for implementing decision to establish the judicial city. In addition to the 27 acres land already identified at Kalamassery, the meeting also decided to acquire more land , if required ,for the proposed judicial city.
The high level meeting was attended by Law Minister P. Rajeeve, Revenue Minister K. Rajan, High Court Judges A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar, Muhamed Mushtaq, Bechu Kurian Thomas and other high court officials. The High Court judges and ministers will visit the land at Kalamassery on February 17 .
The High Court had asked for construction of new buildings for the High Court owing to space constraints at the existing building. As there were limitations in acquiring land adjacent to the existing High Court build in view of its eco-sensitive nature, the government suggested identifying land for constructing a new High Court building. The proposal to construct a new building for the High Court at Kalamassery was mooted at an annual meeting of Chief Minister and the High Court Chief Justice held at Thiruvananthapuram on November 9, 2023.
