Stepping into the Kerala High Court’s atrium on Sunday was like travelling through the annals of the state’s judicial history. Each artefact at the week-long exhibition, ‘Nyaya Dharshan – Glimpses of the Past’, offers a glimpse into the three streams of Kerala’s judicial history: Travancore, Cochin and Malabar.
Organised as part of the Kerala High Court’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, the exhibition has turned the atrium into a treasure trove for history buffs.
From instruments and seals that once held sway over the fates of many to devices used to mete out punishment, palm-leaf documents that served as references for the judiciary of yesteryear, and photographs of prominent figures who shaped the history of the High Court, the exhibits offer a fascinating journey through time.
According to a High Court public relations official, the state’s modern judicial system took shape in the early 19th century. “That was a time when zilla courts and a ‘huzur’ court (headed by a panel of judges) were established in Travancore. Cochin too had subordinate courts and a huzur court of Appeal,” the official says.
“Malabar, then under the jurisdiction of the High Court of Madras, had an equally long tradition of a modern court system.”
A large wall display chronicles the evolution of Keralam’s judiciary, from the days of the kings to the present. During the Chera period, spanning the centuries before and after the beginning of the Common Era, the king headed the administration of justice, assisted by his ministers.
This was followed by the Kulasekhara era (800–1102 AD), when the king was assisted in administering justice by the Munnuttuvar (assembly of 300) and the Arunuttuvar (assembly of 600).
The timeline highlights the role of Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma in introducing significant reforms to Travancore’s judicial administration. The pictorial chronicle concludes with the history of the present-day High Court.
One exhibit that catches the eye is an iron gibbet suspended from the atrium’s roof. A stark reminder of the extreme punishments meted out to hardened criminals in the 15th century, the device was used to confine offenders and display them in public.
“The culprits were left in the gibbet without food and water till they died,” reads the information board installed beside the exhibit by the department of archaeology.
Another instrument of punishment on display is the ‘hadhadi’, a traditional implement of corporal punishment associated with the former system of local administration on Minicoy Island. It was used to whip offenders.
The ‘mukkali’ and ‘chithravadhakoodu’ are other instruments of punishment from a harsher age, when justice often wore an unforgiving face. Today, they serve as reminders of how far the law has travelled, from the severity of punishment to the principles of due process and human dignity.
Among the exhibits is a rare collection of court-fee stamp papers. Each stamp carries a small fragment of history, together tracing the evolution of the machinery of justice, one document at a time.
Another major attraction is a complete mock-up of a courtroom from an earlier era. An old Bible, court seals, documents, law books, chairs, typewriter, clock, and other objects used in courts over the years are also on display.
One chair on display has a particularly distinguished history. It once belonged to O Chandu Menon, who wrote Malayalam’s first major social novel, ‘Indulekha’ (1889). Not many know that he was an eminent judicial officer, and had served as a sub-judge of Calicut.
The exhibition, open to the public from 4pm to 6pm, will conclude on Saturday.