KOCHI: It's official. The proposed judicial city project, designed to meet the future development requirements of the Kerala High Court and accommodate the Kerala Judicial Academy and Mediation Centre, will be set up in Kalamassery.
An agreement in this regard was reached at a meeting of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Chief Justice Ashish Jitendra Desai in Kochi on Sunday.
The Chief Minister said that the meeting held in Kochi has decided to initiate further steps to establish the Judicial City in Kalamassery. Based on this, the site inspection will be carried out in the presence of High Court judges and state ministers will be held on February 17.
Law Minister P Rajeeve, Revenue Minister K Rajan, High Court Judges AK Jayasankaran Nambiar, AK Muhamed Mustaque, Bechu Kurian Thomas and other top officials attended the meeting.
The government has already identified 27 acres of land owned by HMT in Kalamassery. More land will be acquired if needed. The objective is to establish state-of-the-art international-level institutions and systems, including a Judicial Academy and Mediation Center, alongside the High Court in Kalamassery.
The proposed High Court building is planned to accommodate 60 courts, and the overall facilities will cover an expansive area of 28 lakh sq. feet, designed with a long-term perspective to meet the future needs of the region. The complex will encompass offices for judges, the Advocate General, chambers for lawyers, staff quarters, parking facilities, and amenities for women judges.
The proposal for a new construction came from the High Court authorities as the existing High Court was facing space constraints. Earlier, the annual meeting of the Chief Minister and Chief Justice of the High Court held in Thiruvananthapuram on November 9 last year had taken a decision on this.
Acquiring additional land adjacent to the existing High Court building for the accommodation of judges and staff posed limitations. The pending notification from the Union Environment Ministry regarding the eco-sensitive zone, coupled with the initiation of works for the Exhibition City as announced in the budget, compelled authorities to seek an alternative location.
The meeting considered that Kalamassery would be the ideal place for the project considering easy access and connectivity to the area for all sections of people. The Chief Justice recently visited the identified land for the proposed construction.