State of Kerala is the result of the merger with Malabar district and Kasaragod of the former princely kingdoms of Travancore and Cochin. The new Kerala legal system has its origins dating back to the days of the Travancore and Cochin Kingdom monarchs.
In 1811, after the insurrection of 1808 against British Cochin and Quilon, Colonel H. M. Munro succeeded Colonel Macaulay with supervision over the Kingdom of Cochin as the resident of Travancore. Following an investigation into widespread lawlessness and program corruption, Colonel Munro and his assistant Captain Blacker surveyed the area and implemented reforms that included courts, pensions, road building, bridges, and schools.
He functioned as the Diwan until he handed over the reins to Coimbatore's Nanjappayya in February1818. So it was Colonel Munro who laid the groundwork for a formal legal framework, culminating in the scenario of the present day. No separate tribunals for the administration of justice existed before his time.
The State Reorganization Act, 1956, was passed on 1 November 1956 thus merging the State of Travancore-Cochin with the district of Malabar and Kasaragod in order to create the present State of Kerala. Kerala's High Court, as it is today, was established as the State of Kerala appointed by the High Court on 1 November 1956. The Kerala High Court Act, 1958 established Kerala High Court's jurisdiction and various functions, and powers. Initially several cases were moved to the Kerala High Court for adjudication from both the Travancore-Cochin High Court and the Madras High Court. Justice K. T. Koshi has been named Kerala's first high court chief justice.