About Us

The nature of the judicial process and functioning of the Courts of law is such that live reporting of the developments in Courts of the kind seen in our mainstream media outlets today, each of which is obsessed with 'breaking the news ahead of competitors', is fraught with dangerous consequences inasmuch as inaccurate and misleading reporting, which are often the byproducts of this 'breaking news' phenomenon, could lead to lowering of the authority and prestige of Courts and Judges in the estimation of the public, causing incalculable damage to the Judiciary and jeopardize the rule of law. 

Reporting from courts calls for added emphasis on accuracy, shunning 'media trial' and reportage of remarks made by judges in the course of hearing and avoidance of the kind of reporting modeled on 'ball-by-ball commentary' on cricket sites, among others. Regrettably, reporting on legal developments is by and large, plagued by inaccuracies, recklessness and sensationalism, with truth resultantly, becoming the casualty in the process. Guidelines framed by the Press Council of India in the matter of reporting on judicial acts are either ignored or worse, flouted. .

Much of this is invariably due to the pressure of the 'breaking news' phenomenon where each media outlet attempts to deliver the news to its audience ahead of its competitors, often at the cost of accuracy and truth without realizing that reporting on legal developments is a different kettle of fish altogether which calls for placing a premium on accuracy rather than the speed of reportage. It may also have something to do with the fact that some of the journalists covering the Courts may be untrained or insufficiently trained in law and consequently do not have a proper understanding of what to report and what not to. There is no gainsaying the fact that the manner of reporting by mainstream media of legal developments has led to much heart-burn, disquiet, unease and anguish among members of the Bar and the Bench.

Kerala Law Review is born out of the inescapable realization that inaccurate reporting of legal developments and illegal practices like parallel trials in the media, if left unchecked, could lead to lowering of the authority and prestige of Courts in the estimation of the public and thereby jeopardize the rule of law. At a time when there is a raging debate on whether or not to impose curbs on media reporting of court proceedings, there is an urgent need for a legal news source that shuns speed (haste?) for accuracy and places a premium on reporting the truth rather than indulge in sensationalism. The Kerala Law Review aspires to meet this need. 

As the name itself indicates, the Kerala Law Review is dedicated primarily to covering proceedings of the High Court of Kerala given the fact that the same does not often find adequate or consistent coverage in most of the legal news portals which are either dedicated to reporting on corporate developments or on proceedings of the Supreme Court. Even the news portals or channels covering the proceedings of the High Court of Kerala suffer from the vices narrated herein above. In these circumstances, the Kerala Law Review seeks to be a reliable online destination for news and updates from the High Court of Kerala and also, offer commentary on the latest developments in law. Even as our focus will be on the High Court of Kerala, we will not shun news and developments in the legal arena from outside the State. News, events and decisions of significance of the Supreme Court of India and other High Courts will also find coverage in the Kerala Law Review.

The Kerala Law Review believes that that nature of the judicial process and functioning of the Courts of law makes it singularly unsuited for live reporting of the kind seen on electronic media and web portals of newspapers and magazines. Therefore, our emphasis will be on reporting court proceedings and legal developments only after ensuring the veracity and accuracy of the contents of the news, even if that may mean that the Kerala Law Review risks falling behind its established competitors in terms of the speed of reporting news updates and developments. That is a risk, we believe, is eminently worth taking.

The Kerala Law Review apart from providing a truthful, comprehensive and intelligent day to day account of the major events of public importance which transpired in Court will also be a forum for exchange of comment and criticism, keeping in mind the fact that our role is neither that of an adversary or an ally of the judiciary or the political executive, but that of a constructive critic. The Kerala Law Review is committed to upholding the rule of law and high values enshrined in the Constitution of India. 

The Kerala Law Review is one operated primarily, if not exclusively, by practising lawyers of the High Court of Kerala which it is hoped, would lend a greater degree of reliability, professionalism, quality and depth to the content and coverage on the site.

 The Kerala Law Review is not so much the product of a well thought out business plan as it is of faith. It can survive and succeed only with the support of the readers. We look forward to your continued patronage and support. 

All communications may be addressed to advajithspalakkad [at] gmail.com

Editor in Chief:
Adv: S. Ajith

E-mail: keralalawreview@yahoo.in