Kuthirai Vandi Court, Coimbatore, TN: A colonial court building now restored back to old glory

Navrang India March 23, 2025

 Kuthirai vandi Court,  is a British-era  single story masonry building with high Madras ceiling supported by  huge masonry columns. It was here  the first Magistrate Court was  housed to dispose of  countless ligations from the people of this  region.  This court in the past era  was popular because the violators of the road rules, etc  by the drivers (in local parlance  Kuthiraivandi- kararkal) of horse-drawn carts  would be severely punished by the presiding judge.There was no empathy or leniency for the law-breakers. They must have proper licence and keep the cart in good condition. At night the carts must keep the oil or kerosene lamp on. The animals should have proper 'Ladams' (Tamil word meaning  horseshoes or ox-shoes ) to protect the hooves. People were dependant on the  horse carts to cover long  distance in the town at that point of time.   It was the first  colonial magistrate court in this part of Madras Presidency. 

Built in 1863 on a  big plot of about 2.6 acres on the  secluded Avinasi Road (now busy arterial), Coimbatore, (now Tamil Nadu) in the last  two or three decades the old structure had not been poorly  maintained by the officials.  In the 1990s  the  court became a site of neglect. As a result it was  in a state of ruins for reasons of  official negligence. No regular repair work was carried out by the PWD at the right time, so there were many cracks developed on the wall. Further delay  led to the cave-in of the  ceiling. 

Kuthirai vandi court, Coimbatore  .thehindu.com

Kuthirai vandi court, Coimbatore  .thehindu.com

Above images: Kuthirai Vandi Court, Coimbatore: entrance to the building at a higher elevation. Note the long covered corridor and the high ceiling supported by wooden rafters. Madras terrace building with thick masonry walls and large pillars always keep indoors cosy and comfortable.........

damaged Kuthirai vandi court, Coimbatore 
                                                                                etvbharat.com

Restoration of the court building, Coimbatore, thehindu.com

Kuthirai Vandi Court (horse-drawn cart court), Coimbatore
facebook.com

 After  protests by the heritage lovers and historians,  allocation of funds was made  to renovate the colonial structure without damaging the heritage features..  The Public Works Department (PWD) in the recent past  took up the renovation work with advice from INTACH, Coimbatore Chapter. The engineers followed the old conventional methods to build the structure to maintain its  heritage  value and aesthetic as it is a masonry colonial-rea  structure (built with ground  lime mortar Kadukai, jaggery, etc) and brick, Kadukkai and Jaggery are  said to be highly rich carbon sources. So they followed the   same methods as used by the Nayak  and Maratha  rulers in the Delta region of Thanjavur. It is a Madras terraced building with ceiling supported by closely spaced quality wooden rafters and beams. 

In the third week of July 2022, a  delegation of six judges from the Madras High Court, Chennai  inspected  the Coimbatore District Court to check on the renovation work which was in the  final stage. Finally, the work was completed in the recent past. This British-era structure is a testament to the old era when motor vehicles were absent or  not popular. Spacious floor area is now used to handle criminal cases. It is said that offeders of petty cases are remanded in this court complex. 

 Across India countless heritage structures face the similar state and the common excuses given by the Archeological Survey  of India  are delay in fund allocation by the government, inadequate staff to cover  monuments that are scattered widely. Such monuments need to be preserved for the next generation as they link the past with the present and establish a continuity When heritage structures fall into ruins and become mounds of rubble buried along with them are the small events of past era.