The Government Law College, Ernakulam, also known as His Highness the Maharajas Government Law College, Ernakulam is an prestigious institution for undergraduate and post-graduate legal education in ,

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. Founded in 1874, it is the first law college in the state of Kerala.It is one of the oldest law colleges in India. The Campus is situated on the banks of

Vembanad Lake Vembanad is the longest lake in India, as well as the largest lake in the state of Kerala. The lake has an area of 230 square kilometers and a maximum length of 96.5 km. Spanning several districts in the state of Kerala, it is known as Ve ...

and is near to

Marine Drive Marine Drive may refer to: Roads Bangladesh * Cox Bazar-Tekhnaf Marine Drive, world's longest marine drive road. Canada * Marine Drive (Nova Scotia), a scenic route in Nova Scotia *Marine Drive (Greater Vancouver), a number of roadways in Metrop ...

and

High Court of Kerala The High Court of Kerala is the highest court in the Indian state of Kerala and the Union territory of Lakshadweep. It is located in Kochi. Drawing its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the High Court has the power to iss ...

. Blanketed by tall and rare species of trees, its campus features a mix of old and modern architecture. The college is recognised by

Bar Council of India The Bar Council of India is a statutory body established under the section 4 of Advocates Act 1961 that regulates the legal practice and legal education in India. Its members are elected from amongst the lawyers in India and as such represents ...

and affiliated to the Faculty of Law, Mahatma Gandhi University in Kottayam and is a reputed Research Centre in Law. The college’s prestigious alumni includes former

Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India ( IAST: ) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint, in consultation ...

K. G. Balakrishnan Konakuppakatil Gopinathan Balakrishnan (born 12 May 1945) is an Indian judge who has been the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of India. He is a former Chief Justice of India. He was the first judge from Kerala to become the ...

, Noted Indian actor

Padma Shree Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is confer ...

Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (; born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada ...

, former

Defence Minister of India The Minister of Defence (''Rakshā Mantrī'') is the head of the Ministry of Defence and a high ranking minister of the Government of India. The Defence Minister is one of the most senior offices in the Union Council of Ministers as well as b ...

A. K. Antony Arackaparambil Kurien Antony (born 28 December 1940) is an Indian politician and attorney who was the 23rd Defence Minister of India. He was Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha, from Kerala from 1985 to 1995 and again from 2005 to 2022. He ...

, and former

Chief Minister of Kerala The chief minister of Kerala is the chief executive of the Indian state of Kerala. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minister. F ...

Oommen Chandy Oommen Chandy, , (born 31 October 1943) is an Indian politician and statesman who served as the Chief Minister of Kerala for two terms, from 2004 to 2006 and again from 2011 to 2016. He was also Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Legislative ...

. It is popularly known as Ernakulam Law College or Maharajas Law College. Law College Ernakulam

History

Government Law College's history began in 1874 when legal education was started in Kerala by the Maharajah of Cochin sanctioning the organisation of a law class in connection with His Highness College Cochin. This was intended to enable candidates from Cochin to present themselves for the law examination of Madras University. Those law classes continued until 1894, when the institution was reorganised entirely. The college was shifted to Thiruvananthapuram and raised to the status of an independent college as His Highness the Maharajah's Law College, Thiruvananthapuram, with W.T.A. Cosby, bar-at-law (judge of the High Court of Travancore who was appointed as professor of law in 1892) as the first principal. A complete set of rules was formulated by the government for the control and regulation of work in the college. The rules prescribed the qualification for members of the teaching staff. The college was maintained by the Maharajah of Travancore from the beginning and managed until 1909, when it was placed under the Direction of the Public Instruction. In 1910, the college came under the High Court of Travancore. With the inauguration of the Travancore University in 1938, the college was transferred to the control of the university. In 1957, the Kerala University was formed and the college came under it. In 1983, with the establishment of Mahatma Gandhi University at Kottayam, the college became a constituent college of that university and is now affiliated to it. In August 1949, the college was moved to Ernakulam to fit it with the integration of the former states of Thiruvithamkoor and Kochi and the consequent moving of the Travancore-Cochin High Court from Thiruvananthapuram to Ernakulam. The college has been housed in the old assembly building of Kochi state at Ernakulam since 1949. The college celebrated the centenary of legal education in 1975. In July 1954, a second law college was started at Thiruvananthapuram. In 1967/68, the three-year LL.B. course was started and the title of the degree of M.L. was changed to LL.M. During 1968/69, the two-year B.L. degree course was abolished. A part-time course for the three-year LL.B. started during 1968/69 but was abolished in 2002. To commemorate the move of the Law College back to Ernakulam, the college celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 1999.

Courses

B.Com., LL.B (Hons)

This is a five-year integrated law course, leading to a B.Com., LL.B (Hons). Each year consist of two semesters. The student earns the integrated B.Com. LL.B. degree after completing the tenth semester, i.e., upon successful completion of five years. This course is being introduced from the academic year 2016–17.

LL.B 3 Year Degree

This is a three-year law course, leading to the award of an honours degree. The course structure is divided into six semesters over three years. qualification degree.

LL.M

The LL.M. course enables students to develop their interests in many of the major areas of law to which they have been introduced in the LL.B. course, and also provides the opportunity to study important aspects of specialized areas of law in The duration of the course is two years. At present, the college is offering instruction in two branches of law in the LL.M degree, Criminal Law and

Commercial Law Commercial law, also known as mercantile law or trade law, is the body of law that applies to the rights, relations, and conduct of persons and business engaged in commerce, merchandising, trade, and sales. It is often considered to be a bra ...

Campus

The Campus situated on the banks of

and near to

Marine Drive, Kochi Marine Drive is a picturesque promenade in Kochi, India. It is built facing the backwaters, and is a popular hangout for the local populace. Despite its name, no vehicles are allowed on the walkway. Marine Drive is also an economically thriving ...

and District Court Ernakulam. Blanketed by tall and rare species of trees, its campus features a mix of old and modern architecture. The main block of the law college is the grand old legislative hall of

Cochin Legislative Council The Cochin Legislative Council was a unicameral legislative body of the Cochin State that functioned from 1925 to 1948 before the merger of Cochin and Travancore to form the Travancore-Cochin state and the Travancore-Cochin Legislative Assembly. ...

. In 1949, when the college was shifted from Trivandrum to Ernakulam, the legislative hall became the part of His Highness the Maharaja's Law College. The college enrols over 700 students for the LL.B course and 30 students for the LL.M course. In 2006, the government declared the campus a heritage site and offered Rs. 50,00,000 for its renovation which is still in progress. The library building includes the computer laboratory. All classrooms are equipped with microphones and speakers for better audibility. WiFi is available for the students' use.

Library

The Government Law College, Ernakulam has one of the oldest law libraries in the country today. The institution has a full-fledged library which has more than 37,000 Volumes and 22 periodicals and is the oldest law library in the state of

. The library has subscriptions to online journals such as Manupatra, CDJ Law Journal, SCC Online, Lexis Nexis (India), Lex Libraria and Hein Online. It also has offline databases of AIR Infotech and KLT Infotech.

Hostels

Government Law College, Ernakulam has both men's and women's hostels. The men's hostel which is metaphorically named

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...

is a live and cheerful space in the city situated in Colombo Jn. on the rear side of the campus. It often finds a mention in the dailies as a hub of creative activities and out of the box thinking. It accommodates 80 students. The women's hostel is placed adjacent to the college campus which is also a happy space where about 30 students stay.

Controversy

In 2016, in a reply to a RTI application sent by one of the student,

stated that the five-year integrated B.A. (Criminology) LL.B (Hons) course which started in 2011 is not recognized by UGC which means that the students will not be eligible to get enrolled as Advocates, even if they complete the course successfully. After the university made necessary changes to the syllabus, the course was given recognition.The said course was titled as B.A., LL.B(5 year Integrated Law Degree course. The said course was replaced with five-year integrated B.Com LL.B (Hons) degree for new batches from academic year 2016–17.

Notable alumni

Judiciary

* Justice K. G. Balakrishnan, Former Chief Justice of India

* Justice K. M. Joseph, Judge, Supreme Court of India * K. K. Usha, Former Chief Justice,

K. Sukumaran (judge) K. Sukumaran is an Indian lawyer who served as a judge in the high courts of Kerala and Mumbai in India. He has led several inquiries into human rights abuses. He is the author of several books on legal topics. Formal career K. Sukumaran had ...

, Former judge Mumbai High court * Justice J. B. Koshy, Former Chief Justice of

Patna High Court The Patna High Court is the High Court of the state of Bihar. It was established on 9 February 1916 and later affiliated under the Government of India Act 1915. The court is based in Patna, the administrative capital of the state of Bihar, I ...

& Kerala High court * Justice Gopinath P, judge,

Kerala High Court The High Court of Kerala is the highest court in the Indian state of Kerala and the Union territory of Lakshadweep. It is located in Kochi. Drawing its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the High Court has the power to iss ...

Pius C. Kuriakose Pius C. Kuriakose ( ml, പയസ്സ് സി. കുര്യാക്കോസ്; born 2 October 1951) was the Lokayukta of the state of Kerala and was the Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court. Early life He was born in Thripunithura, ...

, Honorable Judge,

Lokayukta The Lokayukta (also Lok Ayukta) ( ''lokāyukta'', ''"civil commissioner"'') is the Indian Parliamentary Ombudsman, executed into power, through and for, each of the State Governments of India. It is brought into effect in a state, after pass ...

* Justice Anu Sivaraman, judge,

* Justice Sunil Thomas, judge,

* Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar, Judge, Kerala High Court * Justice B. Sudheendra Kumar, judge,

* Justice Babu Mathew P. Joseph, Former Judge,

* Justice P. N. Ravindran, Former Judge,

* Justice P. R. Ramachandra Menon, Chief Justice,

High Court of Chhattisgarh The Chhattisgarh High Court is one of the High Courts in India located at Village Bodri, Bilaspur with jurisdiction over the state of Chhattisgarh. It was established on 1 November 2000 with the creation of New state of Chhattisgarh upon t ...

* Justice Narayana Pisharadi R, Judge,

* Justice Devan Ramachandran, Judge,

* Justice V. Shircy, Judge,

* Justice Shaji P. Chaly, judge of

* Justice Mary Joseph, Judge,

* Justice N. Nagaresh, Judge,

A. K. Jayasankaran Nambiar A. K. Jayasankaran Nambiar is a judge of the Kerala High Court. The High Court of Kerala is the highest court in the Indian state of Kerala and in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep. The High Court of Kerala is headquartered at Ernakulam, K ...

, Judge,

* Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas, Judge,

* Justice M. R. Anitha, Judge,

* Justice Haripal, Judge,

Murali Purushothaman Murali Purushothaman ( ml, മുരളി പുരുഷോത്തമൻ) is an Indian judge who is presently serving as a judge of Kerala High Court. The High Court of Kerala is the highest court in the Indian state of Kerala and in the Unio ...

, Judge,

Government

A K Antony Arackaparambil Kurien Antony (born 28 December 1940) is an Indian politician and attorney who was the 23rd Defence Minister of India. He was Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha, from Kerala from 1985 to 1995 and again from 2005 to 2022. He ...

, Former Union Defence Minister of

and Former

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

, former

State of

K. R. Gowri Amma K. R. Gouri (14 July 1919 – 11 May 2021), born Kalathilparambil Raman Gouri, commonly known as Gouri Amma, was an Indian politician from Alappuzha in central Kerala. She was one of the most prominent leaders of the Left movement in India. Bor ...

, First Women Minister in the

State of Kerala State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * '' State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our ...

Vayalar Ravi Vayalar Ravi (born 4 June 1937
) is an Indian politician, who served as the

, former Union Cabinet Minister *

P Rajeev P, or p, is the sixteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''pee'' (pronounced ), plural ''pees''. History The ...

, Law Minister of Kerala State *

E. Chandrasekharan Nair E. Chandrasekharan Nair (2 December 1928 – 29 November 2017) was an Indian politician, Minister of Kerala and leader of the Communist Party of India. Biography Shri. E. Chandrasekharan Nair, one of the seniormost leaders of CPI and co- ...

, Senior Leader of CPI, former Food and Civil Supplies Minister *

Jose Thettayil Jose Thettayil (born 17 August 1950) is an Indian politician, trade unionist, advocate, and a member of Janata Dal (Secular). He was the ex- minister for Transport in the Government of Kerala. He represents the Angamaly constituency in Ernak ...

, Former Minister for Transport, Government of Kerala * K. P. Viswanathan, Former Minister for Forests & Wildlife

Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision ...

Legislators

Anto Antony Anto Antony Punnathaniyil (born 1 May 1957) is a member of the 15th, 16th Lok Sabha from the Pathanamthitta electoral district in Kerala. He is a member of the Indian National Congress and on 16 May 2009, in the first election held in this n ...

, Member of Parliament *

P. T. Thomas Puthiyaparambil Thomas Thomas (12 December 1950 – 22 December 2021) was an Indian politician who served as a member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, represented Thrikkakkara assembly constituency from 2016 until his death in 2021. He was ...

, Former member of the

Kerala Legislative Assembly The Kerala Legislative Assembly, popularly known as the Kerala Niyamasabha, is the State Assembly of Kerala, one of the 28 states in India. The Assembly is formed by 140 elected representatives. Each elected member represents one of the 140 c ...

A. C. Jose Ambat Chacko Jose ( ml, അമ്പാട്ട് ചാക്കോ ജോസ്; 5 February 1937 – 23 January 2016) was an Indian politician. He was Speaker (politics), Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly and a Member of Parliam ...

, former Speaker of Kerala Legislative Assembly *

Therambil Ramakrishnan Therambil Ramakrishnan is a lawyer and an Indian National Congress politician from Thrissur and a former Member of the Legislative Assembly of Thrissur to Kerala Legislative Assembly in 1982, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006 and 2011. He was the former Sp ...

, former Speaker of KLA *

Varkala Radhakrishnan Varkala V. Radhakrishnan (21 August 1927 – 26 April 2010) was an Indian politician and member of the 14th Lok Sabha. He also has served as the speaker of Kerala Legislative Assembly. He represented the Chirayinkil constituency of Kerala and ...

, former MP and Speaker of KLA *

Simon Britto Rodrigues Simon Britto Rodrigues (27 March 1954 – 31 December 2018) was an Indian politician and writer. He was an Anglo-Indian member in the Kerala Legislative Assembly during the term of Left Democratic Front government from 2006 to 2011. Early life ...

, Politician, writer, former member of the

Thomas Kallampally Thomas Kallampally (19 April 1953 – 27 February 2002) was a notable politician and educationist from Kanjirappally, Kerala. He was born in Kanjirappally. He started Netaji Vayanasaala a library for the youth at Anakkal, Kanjirappally at the age ...

, Former member of the

U. A. Latheef U. A. Latheef is an Indian politician belonging to Indian Union Muslim League. He was elected as a member of Kerala Legislative Assembly from Manjeri on 2 May 2021. Early life U. A. Latheef was born to Muhammad Haji at Manjeri around 1949. He ...

, member of the

P. C. George P. C. George (born 28 August 1951), in full Plathottathil Chacko George, is an Indian politician. George is a seven-time and ex Member of the Legislative Assembly (M.L.A.) of the Poonjar constituency in the Kottayam district of Kerala state (1 ...

, Former member of the

Malayalam Film Industry

, Indian Film Actor Mamooty

Sachy (writer) K. R. Sachidanandan (25 December 197218 June 2020), professionally credited as Sachy, was an Indian screenwriter, director, and film producer who worked in the Malayalam film industry. Initially, he co-wrote films with Sethu as a writer duo kno ...

, Malayalam Film Industry *

Baburaj (actor) Baburaj Jacob, mononymously known as Baburaj, is an Indian actor, director, and screenwriter who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema and has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi films. He began and established his career in cinema ...

, Malayalam Film Industry *

Rohini Mariam Idicula Rohini Mariam Idicula is an Indian actress, anchor and model known for her work in Malayalam film Malayalam cinema is an Indian cinema, Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The ...

, Actress, Model

Others

* N. R. Madhava Menon, Indian civil servant, Lawyer and Legal educator * M. N. Vijayan, Famous Malayalam writer and Kerala Sahithya Academy Award winner *

K. P. Dandapani K.P. Dandapani was the Advocate General of Kerala, India, from 2011 to 2016. Early life Dandapani was born in Kerala. He is the son of late V.K. Padmanabhan and M.K. Narayani. Dandapani completed his primary education from St. Albert's High Sch ...

, former advocate general of Kerala *

TG Mohandas T. G. Mohandas (born 1955) is an Indian lawyer, social critic, writer, journalist and television presenter from Kerala. Mohandas was the state convener of Bharatiya Janata Party's Intellectual Cell and the General Secretary in 1997 of Bharatee ...

, Journalist * Porinju Veliyath, Naturalist *

Bindu Ammini Bindu Ammini is an Indian lawyer and lecturer at Government Law College, Kozhikode, and a Dalit activist. She is one of the two first women between the age of ten and fifty to enter the Sabarimala Temple after a Supreme Court of India decision all ...

, Lawyer, Professor *

A Jayashankar A. Jayashankar (born 21 September 1962) is an Indian lawyer, social critic, political analyst, and journalist from Kerala who is a former member of the Communist Party of India. He is known for his sarcastic articles published in ''Madhyamam We ...

, Advocate, Political Journalist *

Farha Mather Farha Mather (born 17 September 1996) is an Indian female badminton player. Achievements BWF International Challenge/Series ''Women's Doubles'' : BWF International Challenge tournament : BWF International Series tournament : BWF Future Seri ...

, Lawyer, International Badminton player

In popular culture

Manju Warriar Manju Warrier (; born 10 September 1978) is an Indian actress, producer, classical dancer and playback singer who primarily appears in Malayalam language films. She is the recipient of several awards including one National Film Award, one K ...

starring

C/O Saira Banu ''C/O Saira Banu'' is a 2017 Indian Malayalam legal drama film directed by Antony Sony. It stars Manju Warrier, Amala Akkineni and Shane Nigam in lead roles. The film marks the return of Amala to Malayalam cinema after a 25-year hiatus. It was r ...

shooting took place in Government Law College Ernakulam where the protagonist Joshua Peter is studying (

Shane Nigam Shane Nigam is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam films. Having made his debut with the 2013 road film '' Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi'' (2013), he went to receive wider attention for his performances in various successful dra ...

) *

Mamooty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (; born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, H ...

starring

Puthan Panam ''Puthan Panam'' ( New money) is a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language crime thriller film written, directed and co-produced by Ranjith, based on the issue of black money and demonetisation. It stars Mammootty, Baiju, Mamukkoya, Hareesh Perumanna, ...

shooting took place in Government Law College Ernakukam where in all the Court scenes are taken.

References

External links

{{Coord, 9.975, 76.280, display=title Universities and colleges in Kochi 1874 establishments in India Educational institutions established in 1874 Law schools in Kerala