Negotiating Power and Law : The Judiciary of Cochin During the Reign of Sakthan Thampuran

The judicial history of the princely state of Cochin represents a complex interaction between indigenous legal traditions and colonial intervention. This paper examines the evolution of judicial administration in Cochin with particular emphasis on the reign of Sakthan Thampuran (1791–1805), a decisive phase marking the transition from customary and caste-based justice to early colonial juridical rationalisation. By analysing indigenous legal practices rooted in Desamaryada, Dharmasastra traditions, and caste hierarchies, alongside British attempts to comprehend and intervene in Cochin's judicial mechanisms, the study highlights how sovereignty, punishment, and legal authority were negotiated between the native ruler and the colonial state. The paper argues that Sakthan Thampuran's judicial reforms, though severe and coercive, constituted an early form of legal centralisation and positivism, which later facilitated British judicialisation in Cochin. The study situates Cochin as an experimental legal space where indigenous sovereignty and colonial power intersected, producing a hybrid legal order in the early modern period.