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

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, 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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Founded in 1875, it is the first law college in the state of Kerala and one of the oldest law colleges in India. Law College Ernakulam

The campus is situated on the banks of Vembanad Lake, near Marine Drive and the High Court of Kerala. Blanketed by tall and rare species of trees, the campus features a mix of old and modern architecture. The college is recognised by the

Bar Council of India Bar Council of India (BCI) is a statutory body established under section 4 of the Advocates Act 1961 that regulates the legal practice and legal education in India. Its members are elected from amongst the lawyers in India and represent the In ...

and is affiliated with the Faculty of Law, Mahatma Gandhi University in Kottayam and is considered a reputed research centre in law. The college’s prestigious alumni include former Chief Justice of India K. G. Balakrishnan, noted Indian actor Mammootty, former Defence Minister of India A. K. Antony, and former Chief Minister of Kerala

Oommen Chandy Oommen Chandy (31 October 1942 – 18 July 2023) was an Indian lawyer and statesman who served as the 10th chief minister of Kerala, serving from 2004 to 2006 and 2011 to 2016. He served also as the Leader of the Opposition, leader of the opp ...

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

History

The college's history began in 1875 when legal education was started in Kerala by the then Maharajah of Travancore sanctioning the organisation of a law class in connection with the His Highness The Maharaja's College, Thiruvananthapuram. This was intended to enable candidates from Travancore to present themselves for the law examination of Madras University. The set-up continued till 1894, when the institution was reorganised entirely with the college being 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 and managed by the Maharajah of Travancore until 1909, when it was placed under the Director of the Public Instruction. In 1910, the college came under the High Court of Travancore. With the inauguration of the University of Travancore (later University of Kerala) in 1938, the college was transferred to the control of the university. In August 1949, the college was shifted to Ernakulam to fit in with the integration of the erstwhile princely states of Travancore and Cochin and the establishment of the Travancore-Cochin High Court, and was housed in the old assembly building of Cochin state. In 1954, the college was shifted back to Thiruvananthapuram, leaving a sister college at Ernakulam. In 1983, with the establishment of Mahatma Gandhi University, the college became a constituent college of that university and is now affiliated to it. 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. The college celebrated the centenary of legal education in 1975 and 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 Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...

and

Commercial Law Commercial law (or business law), which is also known by other names such as mercantile law or trade law depending on jurisdiction; is the body of law that applies to the rights, relations, and conduct of Legal person, persons and organizations ...

Campus

The Campus situated on the banks of Vembanad Lake and near to Marine Drive, Kochi 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. 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 is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

is situated in Colombo Jn. on the rear side of the campus. It accommodates 80 students. The women's hostel is placed adjacent to the college campus 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, High Court of Kerala * K. Sukumaran (judge), Former judge Mumbai High court * Justice J. B. Koshy, Former Chief Justice of

Patna High Court The Patna High Court of Judicature at Patna (commonly known as Patna High Court) is the High Courts of India, High Court of the Indian state, state of Bihar. It was established on 3 February 1916 by British colonial government and was later aff ...

& Kerala High court * Justice Gopinath P, judge, Kerala High Court * Pius C. Kuriakose, Honorable Judge, Lokayukta * Justice Anu Sivaraman, judge, Kerala High Court * Justice Sunil Thomas, judge, Kerala High Court * Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar, Judge, Kerala High Court * Justice B. Sudheendra Kumar, judge, Kerala High Court * Justice Babu Mathew P. Joseph, Former Judge, High Court of Kerala * Justice P. N. Ravindran, Former Judge, High Court of Kerala * Justice P. R. Ramachandra Menon, Chief Justice, High Court of Chhattisgarh * Justice Narayana Pisharadi R,

Judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

, High Court of Kerala * Justice Devan Ramachandran,

, High Court of Kerala * Justice V. Shircy,

, High Court of Kerala * Justice Shaji P. Chaly, judge of Kerala High Court * Justice Mary Joseph,

, High Court of Kerala * Justice N. Nagaresh,

, High Court of Kerala * A. K. Jayasankaran Nambiar,

, High Court of Kerala * Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas,

, High Court of Kerala * Justice M. R. Anitha,

, High Court of Kerala * Justice Haripal,

, High Court of Kerala * Murali Purushothaman,

, High Court of Kerala * Justice Sophy Thomas, Judge, High Court of Kerala

Government

A K Antony Arackaparambil Kurien Antony (born 28 December 1940) is an Indian lawyer, attorney and statesman who served as the Minister of Defence of India from 2006 to 2014, making him the longest serving Defence Minister in India. He previously served as ...

, former Union Defence Minister of India and former Chief Minister of Kerala *

, former Chief Minister of Kerala *

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

, former Union Cabinet Minister * P Rajeev, Law Minister of Kerala * E. Chandrasekharan Nair, senior leader of CPI, former Food and Civil Supplies Minister of Kerala * Jose Thettayil, former Transport Minister of Kerala *

K. P. Viswanathan K. P. Viswanathan (22 April 1940 – 15 December 2023) was an Indian politician. Life and career K. P. Viswanathan was born to parents Kallayil Pangan and Parukutty in Kunnamkulam on 22 April 1940, and graduated from Sree Kerala Varma College, ...

, former Minister for Forests & Wildlife of Kerala

Legislators

* P. K. Ittoop, 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 30 states in India. The Assembly is formed by 140 elected representatives. Each elected member represents one of the 140 ...

Anto Antony Anto Antony Punnathaniyil (born 1 May 1957) is an Indian politician and agriculturist who has been serving as Member of Parliament for Pathanamthitta, Kerala, since 2009. A member of Indian National Congress, he serves as a member of the Stand ...

, Member of Parliament * A. C. Jose, former Speaker of the

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 Kerala Legislative Assembly *

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

, former MP and Speaker of Kerala Legislative Assembly * P. T. Thomas, former member of Kerala Legislative Assembly * Simon Britto Rodrigues, former member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly * Thomas Kallampally, former member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly * U. A. Latheef, member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly * P. C. George, former member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly *

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 (UDF) in the 15th Kerala Legisla ...

, Leader of Opposition, Kerala Legislative Assembly *

Chandy Oommen Chandy Oommen (born 1 March 1986) is an Indian lawyer, lecturer, and politician. He is an advocate by profession, who practices law at the Supreme Court of India since 2016. He currently serves as the Member of the Kerala Legislative Assemb ...

, member of Kerala Legislative Assembly

Malayalam Film Industry

* Mammootty, 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 and Hindi films. He began and established his career in cinema by playing ...

, Malayalam Film Industry * Rohini Mariam Idicula, Actress, Model

Others

* N. R. Madhava Menon, civil servant, lawyer and legal educator * M. N. Vijayan, Kerala Sahithya Academy Award winning writer * K. P. Dandapani, former Advocate General of Kerala * B. Raman Pillai, criminal lawyer * TG Mohandas, journalist * Porinju Veliyath, naturalist, investor * Bindu Ammini, lawyer * A Jayashankar, lawyer, journalist * Farha Mather, lawyer, badminton player * Shahina K. K., Journalist, Winner International Press Freedom Award, 2023

In popular culture

* Manju Warriar starring C/O Saira Banu 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 in the 2010 film Thanthonni, he performed as a supporting character in various successful drama films '' Parava'' (2017), '' Kumbalangi Nights'' (2019), and ' ...

) * Mamooty 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, Siddique (actor), Siddique, Mamukkoya, ...

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

Mammotty 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 cinema, Malayalam-language films. He has also appeared in ...

starrer movie

Bheeshma Parvam ''Bheeshma Parvam'' () is a 2022 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film produced, written, and directed by Amal Neerad. The film stars Mammootty in the lead role along with a supporting cast of Soubin Shahir, Sreenath Bhasi, Shine Tom ...

there is a mention of the college * The police canteen scenes for the 2023 theatrical

Kannur Squad ''Kannur Squad'' is a 2023 Indian Malayalam-language crime thriller film directed by Roby Varghese Raj in his directorial debut and written by Muhammed Shafi and Rony David Raj. The film stars Mammootty alongside Azees Nedumangad, Rony Dav ...

was shot in the heritage building of the college.

References

External links

{{Coord, 9.975, 76.280, display=title Universities and colleges in Kochi 1874 establishments in India Universities and colleges established in 1874 Law schools in Kerala Colleges affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala