‘Kerala HC’ to retain name despite state renamed ‘Keralam’; change requires new Act of Parliament

Kochi: Although the Union Cabinet has approved the Bill to amend the Constitution to reflect the state’s name as ‘Keralam’, there will be no change in the English nomenclature ‘High Court of Kerala’. In Malayalam, the court is already referred to as ‘Kerala High Court’, and therefore no issue arises on that count. However, if the English name is to be altered to ‘High Court of Keralam’, a law must be passed by Parliament.

Any move to rename the High Court must originate with the state government and receive the support of the High Court. The recommendation would then have to be considered by the Union government, followed by the passage of a law in Parliament and its publication in the Gazette. Advocate Justin Mathew of the High Court noted that a Bill introduced in Parliament in 2016 to rename the Madras and Bombay High Courts as the Chennai and Mumbai High Courts respectively could not be passed as the Lok Sabha’s term ended.

First decision at Sevateerth: ‘Keralam’

The Union Cabinet has approved the Kerala Legislative Assembly’s recommendation to change the state’s name from ‘Kerala’ to ‘Keralam’. The resolution, passed by the Assembly on June 24, 2024, was cleared after a two-year wait at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is notable that this was the first decision taken at the inaugural Cabinet meeting held at Sevateerth, the Prime Minister’s new office.

The decision comes ahead of the Assembly elections. A similar resolution passed by the Kerala Assembly in 2023 had earlier been returned by the Union Home Ministry.

The ‘Kerala Name Change Bill, 2026’ will be referred by the President to the state legislature for its views under Article 3 of the Constitution. After receiving the Assembly’s opinion, the Bill must be introduced and passed in Parliament with the President’s assent. The name change will come into effect only after completion of these procedures.

Responding to a question on whether the approval was influenced by the impending elections, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that projects for Kerala had been announced earlier as well, not only during election periods.

Article 3

Under Article 3 of the Constitution, Parliament may enact a law to alter the area, boundaries or name of a state with the prior recommendation of the President, but the views of the state legislature concerned must be sought.

What Kerala Assembly’s resolution states

“From the time of the freedom struggle, there was a strong demand for the formation of a unified Kerala for Malayalam-speaking people. On November 1, 1956, the State of Kerala was formed on a linguistic basis. However, in the First Schedule of the Constitution, the state’s name is recorded as ‘Kerala’. Therefore, the Assembly unanimously urges the Union Government to take urgent steps to amend the Constitution under Article 3 and change the name to ‘Keralam’.”