Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram also known as GLC Trivandrum is one of the institutions imparting graduate and post graduate

legal education in India Legal education in India generally refers to the education of lawyers before entry into practice. Legal education in India is offered at different levels by the traditional universities and the specialised law universities and schools only after co ...

. Affiliated to the University of Kerala, it is the second law college 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 Ca ...

and one of the oldest law colleges in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. It was established in 1875 by the then Maharajah of the erstwhile Princely State of Travancore. Notable alumni of the college including Judges of

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

such as Justice Fathima Beevi, judges of High Courts, politicians, and academicians such as N. R. Madhava Menon.

History

The government of His Highness Maharaja of Travancore on 31 January 1875 sanctioned "the Organisation of a Law Class in connection with His Highness College at

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

to enable candidates from

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. A ...

to present themselves for the Law Examination of the University of Madras and to encourage others to pursue the study of Law systematically". The order sanctioning the scheme directed that it shall be worked on the same lines as the Class attached to the Presidency College at Madras. Mr. W. E. Ormsby,

Barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...

-at-law, then a Judge of Sadur Court of

was appointed Professor of Law in His Highness the Maharajas College. He opened the class on 9 February of the same year. In 1877, His Highness College was affiliated to the University of Madras in the Faculty of Law. The class was thus continued till 1894 when in conformity with important alterations in the by-laws of the Madras University regarding the B.L. Degree Examination, the institution was re-organised on an entirely different footing. The Law Class which till then was working as a part of His Highness College and the Professors whereof were treated as members of that College was raised to the status of an independent College under the designation of "His Highness Maharaja's Law College,

". A complete set of rules was also sanctioned by the Government for the control and regulation of work in the college. The rules prescribed the qualification required for the members of the teaching staff. The Law College was maintained by His Highness Government and the management of the college was vested in the Principal acting directly under the orders of Dewan of Travancore till the end of 1908. In 1909 the College was placed under the Director of Public Instruction and in 1910 it was placed under the control of the High Court. With the inauguration of University of Travancore in 1938, the College was transferred to the control and supervision of the University. In August 1949 the college was shifted to Ernakulam to fit in with the new set up arising out of the integration of erstwhile State of Travancore- Cochin and the location of the High Court of the united State at

Eranakulam Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation ...

. In 1954 it was again brought to

, leaving at Ernakulam a sister college and was housed in the current premises in the Highland Bungalow on the Barton Hill. Under the University Act of 1957, the college was transferred to the control of Government of Kerala. In 1961 Government made the

Law College a permanent institution. In 1962-63 a full-time Post-graduate course was introduced with M. L. Degree and LL.M was started in 1971. Three Year LL.B course was started from 1967-68 & Five Year LL.B. Course was introduced from the academic year 1984-85.

Campus

The Government Law College

is housed in the Highland Bungalow of Mr. Barton, British Chief Engineer of erstwhile Princely State of

. Many new blocks were later added in the 5 acre beautiful green campus in the heart of the city.

Academics

Admissions

Admissions to both undergraduate and post graduate programs at the Government Law College Thiruvananthapuram are through a highly competitive entrance examination conducted by Commissioner for Entrance Examination,

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 decisio ...

Academic programmes

B.A., LL.B (Integrated) Government Law College

offers an undergraduate five-year integrated LL.B. program which, upon completion, qualifies the student to sit for the bar to practice law in India. This course is a double degree Integrated course comprising B.A (English) and LL.B degrees. The bachelor's degree in B.A. and Law shall consist of regular course of study for a minimum period of 10 Semesters in Five Years and shall consist of 14 papers in B.A. and 31 papers in Law. LL.B (3 year Course) Government Law College also offers a three-year LL.B. program which, upon completion, qualifies the student to sit for the bar to practice law in India. The course of study for the bachelor's degree in Law (LL.B) shall consist of regular course of study for a minimum period of 6 semesters in three years and shall consist of 20 compulsory papers, 4 compulsory clinical papers and 6 optional papers in Law. Masters in Law (LL.M) Government Law College offers post graduate Law degrees in two lines of specialization: ''Constitution Law & Criminal Law''. The normal duration of the

LL.M. A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

programme shall be four semesters. Government Law College Thiruvananthapuram was one of the few colleges to run a LL.M Programme in Constitution Law. LL.M (Evening Batch) Sanction accorded by Government of Kerala and orders issued to start a 20 student batch from 2015-16.

Library

Government Law College

library is one of the oldest law library in the country. The spacious and magnificent College Library is an important resource center, primarily intended to provide

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

and postgraduate readers with the books they need for their studies. The Government Law College library is known for its rare collection of books and treatise on various subjects not limited to law. It holds over 27,000 books and 5000 periodicals. The library is fully automated, and book circulation is maintained through Library-cum-Identity Cards with the help of a barcode system. Noted academician and alumnus Prof. (Dr.) N.R. Madhava Menon promised handing over his collection of books to the college library, during his speech at the 140 years celebration of the college in March 2015.

Research Block

Research Center in Law status has been accorded to Government Law College

by the University of Kerala. The college has requested for the formation of a chair named ''Malloor Govinda Pillai Chair on Criminal Law'' . A proposal for formation of ''Justice K.K Mathew Chair on Constitutional Law'' is also pending with the government. Prof. (Dr.) N.R. Madhava Menon announced in March 2015 that he would be available to guide the research programmes at the college.

Student life

Hostel

The Hostel Block inaugurated by the then President of India, Shri.

Fakaruddin Ali Ahmed Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (13 May 1905 – 11 February 1977) was an Indian lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of India from 1974 to 1977. Born in Delhi, Ahmed studied in Delhi and Cambridge and was called to the bar from the ...

as a men's Hostel is now converted as a Women's Hostel. The admission is made by the Warden for students from second year of study onward. The male students are now accommodated in a separate block at University Hostel for Men at Palayam, Thiruvananthapuram.

Moot Court Competition

Government Law College

hosts an annual national level moot court competition- All India Moot Court Competition for Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer Trophy. Over the years, Government Law College

team excelled in various national level moot court competitions. Including winning the XV All India Moot Court Competition 2012 for Adv. T. S. Venketeswara Iyer Memorial Ever Rolling Trophy conducted by Govt. Law College, Ernakulam Moot Court Society. Winning multiple best memorial awards and individual awards.

Quizzing

The Government Law College quizzing team is well known in the quizzing circuits of Kerala. They brought glory to University of Kerala by bagging the First Runner Up trophy in the 2013 National Youth Festival held at

Kurukshetra Kurukshetra (, ) is a city and administrative headquarter of Kurukshetra district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is also known as Dharmakshetra ("Realm of duty ") and as the "Land of the Bhagavad Gita". Legends According to the Pura ...

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ...

. The team also got First Prize in South Zone Inter-University Youth Festival held at Bangalore in 2013. The Quiz Club hosts quiz within the college from time to time.

National Service Scheme

The National Service Scheme is an Indian government-sponsored programme under the Department of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Government of India. Government Law College

has two NSS Units. In 2012, ''Best Programme Officer'' of N.S.S. for University of Kerala was awarded to Assistant Professor K. Hareendran of Government Law College

. The N.S.S. unit has been actively involved in many social service activities in rural area and has organised many legal aid and legal literacy programs in addition to forest conservation, environmental protection and blood donation camps

Student Publications

Government Law College Thiruvananthapuram magazine is brought out annually by the college union. The Student Editor is chosen by an electoral college consisting of all students of the college, and the Staff Editor is ''nominated'' by the Staff Council headed by the college Principal. Dr. N.R. Madava Menon was the student editor during 1954-55. Internal Quality Assurance Cell (I.Q.A.C.) is soon coming out with a student edited in-house journal devised to escalate the quality and to upsurge the academic talents of the student community. The Student Law Journal is aimed for the promotion of reading, writing and research among students and act as a powerhouse in outsourcing the craft and in optimizing the quality of the student community.

Notable alumni

Judiciary

* Fathima Beevi, former judge,

, first female Supreme Court judge & 11th Governor of Tamilnadu State * K. K. Mathew, former judge, Supreme Court of India *

Cyriac Joseph Cyriac Joseph (born on 28 January 1947 at Kaipuzha, Kottayam District, Travancore) was a Judge of the Supreme Court of India from 7 July 2008 to 27 January 2012. Early life He was born in Kaipuzha, Kottayam Kerala on 28 January 1947. He comple ...

, former judge, Supreme Court of India *

B. Kemal Pasha B. Kemal Pasha (born 25 May 1956) is a retired judge of the High Court of Kerala. Early life Kemal Pasha was born in Anchal, Anchal Village, Kollam district, Kollam District, on 25 May 1956. He completed his primary education from Government U.P ...

, Honorable Justice,

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 issu ...

* P. Habeeb Mohamed, former judge, The High Court of Travancore (princely state) * N. Anil Kumar, Judge high court of kerala * Sathish Ninan, Judge High Court of Kerala * P. Somarajan, Judge High Court of Kerala * C. S. Dias, Judge High Court of Kerala *

Padmanabhan Subramanian Poti Padmanabhan Subramanian Poti (2 February 1923 – February 1998) was a former Chief Justice of the Kerala and Gujarat High Courts in India. After retiring he assisted the Indian People's Tribunal on Environment and Human Rights (IPT). Caree ...

, Judge, High court of Gujarath * T. V. Anilkumar, Judge High Court of Kerala * Justice K. Babu, High court of Kerala * P G Ajith Kumar, Honorable Justice, High Court of Kerala

Legislature

* V. R. Krishnan Ezhuthachan, Member of Cochin Legislative Council * A. Sampath, Former Member of Parliament *

V. D. Satheesan Vadassery Damodaran Satheesan (born 31 May 1964) is an Indian politician from the Indian National Congress, representing Paravur Assembly Constituency in Ernakulam District, serving as Leader of the Opposition (U D F) in the 15th Kerala Legi ...

, Leader of Opposition, Second Vijayan Government * N.K. Premachandran, Member of Parliament *

Jose K. Mani Jose Karingozhackal Mani (born 29 May 1965) is an Indian politician and Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha and former Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Kerala. He is the son of veteran politician K. M. Mani and the Chairman of Kerala Congr ...

, Member of Parliament * M. I. Shanavas, Member of Parliament * R. Sankara Narayanan Thampi, first speaker of

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 ...

* K. M. Seethi, former speaker of Kerala Legislative Assembly * Mathew Kuzhalnadan, member of

* N. Sakthan, former speaker of Kerala Legislative Assembly * T.V. Rajesh, member of Kerala Legislative Assembly * P. C. Vishnunath,Member of Kerala Legislative Assembly * K. K. Ramachandran Nair, Former Member of Kerala Legislative Assembly * P. Aisha Potty, Former Member of Kerala Legislative Assembly * D. Damodaran Potti, former speaker of Kerala Legislative Assembly * K. A. Damodara Menon, Freedom Fighter, Journalist and politician

Government

C. Achutha Menon Chelat Achutha Menon (13 January 1913 – 16 August 1991) was the Chief Minister of Kerala state for two terms. The first term was from 1 November 1969 to 1 August 1970 and the second 4 October 1970 to 25 March 1977. He was instrumental in ...

, former Chief minister of Kerala * K.T. Achuthan, Former Minister for Transport & Labour, Pattom Ministry *

E. Ikkanda Warrier Ikkanda Warrier (ഇക്കണ്ട വാര്യര്) (1890 – 1977) was the third and the last Prime Minister of the state of Cochin, India, beginning in 1948. Early life Warrier was born in 1890 as the member of the Edakkunni Warria ...

, 3rd Prime Minister of Cochin * P. T. Chacko, Former Home Minister of Kerala *

Ramesh Chennithala Ramesh Chennithala, , (born 25 May 1956), is an Indian politician, and a senior leader of the Indian National Congress. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the 14th Kerala Legislative Assembly. He also served as the state Home Minister in th ...

, former Home Minister,

Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan (born 26 December 1949) is an Indian politician from the state of Kerala. From 13 April 2012 to 1 January 2014, he was the Home Minister in Oommen Chandy Ministry, Government of Kerala. He simultaneously held the Vig ...

, former Sports Minister, Government of Kerala * K. C. Joseph (Irikkur politician), former minister of rural development & cultural affairs * M. Vijayakumar, former Minister of Law, Government of Kerala *

R. Sankar R. Sankar (30 April 1909 – 7 November 1972) was an Indian politician who was the third Chief Minister of Kerala from 1962 to 1964. He was also the Deputy Chief Minister of the State from 1960 to 1962. Sankar apart from as a politician is ...

, 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 minist ...

P. K. Vasudevan Nair Padayatt Kesavapillai Vasudevan Nair (2 March 1926 – 12 July 2005), popularly known as PKV, was the 9th Chief Minister of Kerala and a senior leader of the Communist Party of India (CPI). He was elected to the Lok Sabha four times, in 1957, ...

, former Chief minister of Kerala *

C. Kesavan C. Kesavan (23 May 1891 – 7 July 1969) was a politician, social reformer, statesman and the Chief Minister of Travancore-Cochin during 1950–1952. He led the Nivarthana agitation in Travancore to gain the democratic authority for the citizen ...

, former Chief minister of Travancore-Cochin (princely state) * M. N. Govindan Nair, former minister, Government of Kerala *

T. M. Jacob T. M. Jacob ( in full T. Mathew Jacob) (16 September 1950 – 30 October 2011) was an Indian politician and the leader of the Kerala Congress (Jacob). Jacob was the Food & Civil Supplies Minister in the UDF government, which was elected into ...

, former minister, Government of Kerala *

Mathew T. Thomas Mathew T. Thomas (born 27 September 1961) is an Indian politician and a member of legislative assembly, who was the former minister for water resources in Government of Kerala, State President and Legislature Party Leader of the Janata Dal (Se ...

, former minister, Government of Kerala * G. Sudhakaran, former minister, Government of Kerala * E. Ahamed, former

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. I ...

, External Affairs * M. B. Rajesh, Minister for Excise Government of Kerala * Kodikunnil Suresh, former Minister of State, Labour *

Mullappally Ramachandran Mullappally Ramachandran (born 7 November 1944) is an Indian politician and former president of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC). He is a member of the Indian National Congress, and the son of Congress leader Mullappally Gopalan. ...

, former

, Home Affairs

Bureaucrats

* N. R. Madhava Menon, former ISS officer, founder of

National Law School of India University The National Law School of India University (NLSIU or simply NLS) is a public law school and a National Law University located in Bangalore, Karnataka. It was the first National Law University to be established in India as well as one of t ...

, N.U.J.S. and N.J.A * V. Joseph Thomas former Indian police chief * Abdul Sathar Kunju (1963 Batch),

Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service ( IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the British Raj. Along with the Indian Administrative Service ( ...

officer and Ex-

Kerala Police The Kerala Police is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Kerala. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The motto of the force is "Mridhu Bhave Dhrida Kruthye" which means "Soft in Temperament ...

Chief * Malayattoor Ramakrishnan, former IAS officer and award-winning writer *

T P Sundararajan T.P. Sundararajan (20 April 194117 July 2011) was an Indian lawyer. Sundararajan was a born in the town of Ambasamudram in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. He was a prolific student and earned his Indian Police Service, IPS. He went on to ...

, Former officer in National Intelligence Bureau

Malayalam Film Industry

* Resul Pookutty, Oscar award winner * Bheeman Raghu, actor and police officer * Anoop Menon, actor, script writer * Shankar Ramakrishnan, actor, script writer *

Karamana Janardanan Nair Karamana Janardanan Nair (25 July 1936 – 24 April 2000) was a Malayalam film actor, who was active during the 1980s and 1990s. He was especially known for his character roles. He won wide acclaim especially for the role of the protagonis ...

, Actor

Others

K. M. Mathew Kandathil Mammen Mathew (2 January 1917 – 1 August 2010) was an Indian newspaper editor who served as the editor-in-chief of the Malayalam-language daily, ''Malayala Manorama''.

, former Chief Editor,

Malayala Manorama ''Malayala Manorama'' is a morning newspaper in Malayalam published from Kottayam, Kerala, India by the Malayala Manorama Company Limited. Currently headed by Mammen Mathew; it was first published as a weekly on 22 March 1888, and currently has ...

Aiyappan Pillai M. R. Ry. Kumar Aiyappan Pillai (24 May 1914 – 5 January 2022; Sanskrit ') was an Indian lawyer, politician and writer. As one of the early leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party, he served as its vice-president and at various times as chai ...

, Senior Lawyer in

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 ...

, One of the First Councillor of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. * Joy Thomas, President Kerala Cooperation Consumer Federation Limited. *

K. C. Kesava Pillai Kanakku Chembakaraman Kesava Pillai (1868–1914) was an Indian composer of Carnatic music and a poet of Malayalam literature. He was the Poet Laureate of Travancore and was known for ''Kesaveeyam'', a mahakavya in Malayalam, two Attakatha (perf ...

, Poet Laureate of Travancore and was known for Kesaveeyam, a mahakavya in Malayalam, two attakathas and several bhajans and kirtans

Popular culture

Shaji Khailas directed and

Ranji Panicker Renji Panicker (born 23 September 1960) is an Indian actor, scriptwriter, director, film producer, and journalist best known for his Malayalam films. He made his debut as a director with '' Bharatchandran IPS'' in 2005. Early life He did hi ...

scripted, Suresh Gopi starring block buster film Thalasthanam revolves around the politics of Government Law College

. Shooting also took place in Government Law College for

K. Madhu K. Madhu is an Indian film director and producer who works predominantly in the Malayalam film industry. He made his debut with '' Malarum Kiliyum'' and has directed over 30 feature films in various languages (Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu & Kann ...

directed Jayaram starring movie

Randam Varavu ''Randam Varavu'' () is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language crime thriller film, directed by K. Madhu and written by John Paul. The film stars Jayaram, Rekha, Jagathy Sreekumar and Sukumaran. The film's musical score is by Shyam. This film was a ...

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.glctvpm.com Law schools in Kerala Colleges in Thiruvananthapuram Colleges affiliated to the University of Kerala Educational institutions established in 1875 1875 establishments in India Academic institutions formerly affiliated with the University of Madras