Kerala High Court's founding and jurisdiction

Background

The High Court of Kerala was established on November 1, 1956, the same day the State of Kerala itself was formed under the States Reorganisation Act by merging Travancore-Cochin with the Malabar district of Madras State. It was formally inaugurated on November 5, 1956. The court's seat is at Ernakulam, and its territorial jurisdiction extends over the entire State of Kerala and the Union Territory of Lakshadweep. Two of its judges hold notable firsts in Indian judicial history: Justice Anna Chandy became the first woman High Court judge in India, and Justice M. Fathima Beevi became the first woman judge of the Supreme Court of India.