Kerala High Court Advocates Association opposes proposal to move High Court to Kalamassery

The Kerala High Court Advocates Association (KHCAA) has opposed the proposal to move Kerala High Court to Kalamassery..A resolution to this effect was passed on Tuesday at a general body meeting of the KHCAA..The association has demanded the High Court establishment committee to secure 17 acres of Housing Board land available near the current High Court location, for future expansion..The Kerala High Court was first established at Ram Mohan Palace, a two-storied building that was built in the mid-1930s overlooking the State’s famous backwaters.In 2006, the High Court was moved to the present building adjacent to the old one. .The shifting legacy of the Kerala High Court - Part I.An issue talked about in legal circles is the lack of parking facilities in the premises of the High Court. Although KHCAA has a building right next to the High Court with additional parking space, the same has not proven sufficient, even during the Covid-19 period when footfall was far less.Further, the High Court building is a stone's throw away from Mangalavanam Bird Sanctuary, an ecologically sensitive area.This became an especially troubling feature when in 2022, the Supreme Court passed a judgment that mandated that every protected forest should have a 1 kilometre eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) where no developmental work shall be allowed.The State government moved a plea before the apex court seeking a relaxation of the order in light of the acute shortage of land and the dense population in Kerala. In a breather to the State and its High Court, the Supreme Court in April 2023, directed that its earlier order would not apply in cases where a draft or final notification for development has already been issued..However, by this time, reports started surfacing that a proposal to move the High Court to the suburb of Kalamassery was being considered by the State government.A report by Mangalam said that it is with a view to improve operational efficiency that the High Court administration asked the State government to consider shifting the location of the Court to a more convenient space..In January last year, the Registrar General of the Kerala High Court had informed KHCAA that there was no proposal to shift the High Court to Kalamassery.In his letter to the KHCAA President, Registrar General P Krishna Kumar said that the then Chief Justice of the High Court, S Manikumar had directed him to confirm that there was no proposal to shift to Kalamassery.Rather, the High Court had only requested the State government to allot additional land to it for further development, he stated.Former acting Chief Justice Alexander Thomas had also called for expeditious action from the State government to allot land near the existing building of the High Court so that it can be expanded to meet the growing needs of the Court.