Administration
of Justice
HIGH COURT OF KERALA
The High Court of Kerala come into being on 1st November
1956, with its seat at Ernakulam. High Court is a constitutional
Court in terms of the Article 215 of the constitution of
India.
Judicial
Setup
The
sanctioned Judge strength of the High Court of Kerala is
27 Permanent Judges including the Chief Justice and 2 Additional
Judges. The Hon’ble Judges sit in single, Division
Bench and in specifically referred cases in Full Bench and
Larger Bench.
The
High Court has Original, Appellate as well as Revisional
Jurisdiction in both Civil and Criminal matters and the
power to answer references under various Statutes. Under
Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the High Court
has power to issue, subject to its territorial jurisdiction,
Directions, Orders and Writs including writs in the nature
of Habeas Corpus, Mandamus, Prohibition, Quo warranto etc.
The High Court has the power of superintendence over all
Courts/Tribunals in the State of Kerala and in the Union
Territory of Lakshadweep.
Administrative
Setup
The
Registrar heads High Court administration, the Other Registrar
looks after the Subordinate Judiciary matters, Registrar
(Vigilance) is in Charge of the vigilance wing of the High
Court and the Director of Training heads the Training Directorate.
Three Joint Registrars, five Deputy Registrars, Public Relations
Officer, Protocol Officer and fifteen Assistant Registrars
are the other important functionaries in the High Court
administration.
SUBORDINATE
JUDICIARY
There
are 14 Principal District & Sessions Courts. All of
them except District Courts at Thodupuzha (Idukki District),
Manjeri (Malappuram District) and Thalassery(Kannur District)
are Situated at the Head Quarters of the Revenue District.
There are 24 Addl. District courts, 27 Fast Track Courts,
51 Sub Courts(18 Addl.),81 Munsiff Courts and 10 Munsiff-Magistrate
Courts, in the State.
Similarly
there are 14 Chief Judicial Magistrate Courts, 4 Addl. Chief
Judicial Magistrate Courts, and 122 Courts of the Judicial
Magistrate of the First Class.
There are Seven Family Courts functioning at Thiruvananthapuram,
Kollam, Ernakulam, Ettumanoor(Kottayam), Thrissur, Manjeri
and Kozhikode. There are 19 Motor Accident Claims Tribunals.
District Judges at Kalpetta and Kasargod also function as
Motor Accident Claims Tribunals. Certain Addl. District
Courts and some Special Courts are also functioning as Motor
Accident Claims Tribunals.
There are two Special Courts Exclusively for the Trial of
NDPS Cases at Thodupuzha and Vadakara, two Special Courts
for the Trial of SPE/CBI Cases at Ernakulam, one Special
Court for the Trial of Essential Commodities Act cases at
Thrissur and one Special Court for the trial of cases relating
to Edamalayar Investigations. There are three Wakf Tribunals
at Kollam, Ernakulam and Kozhikode.
