Kochi : Paving the way to end a redundant custom in court proceedings relating to property attachment, the rule committee of the Kerala high court has decided to discontinue the practice of ‘Tom-Tom’ proclamation (Kinnam Mutti Vilambaram), which involves beating a traditional metal plate during attachment proceedings.
In reply to an application filed by a social activist from Palakkad under the RTI Act, the HC said the rule committee had examined the practice and decided to delete sub-rule (2) of Order XXI Rule 54 of the Code of Civil Procedure, which provides for the practice. Previously, the activist had obtained details regarding the proclamation practice from the district court, Palakkad, which stated that it had collected Rs 56,000 as Tom-Tom proclamation charges from parties from Jan 2022 to Oct 2022. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kochi | Silver Rate in Kochi | Bank Holidays in Kochi | Public Holidays in Kochi Stay updated with the latest Kochi news.
The decision came after the social activist sought an end to the practice, which, according to him, caused immense social stigma to victims of property attachment. He also pointed to a recent incident in which a young girl student allegedly committed suicide in Kollam after being deeply disheartened by public property attachment proceedings outside her home. It was also submitted that several decades had passed since the practice of proclamation by beating drums for carrying out attachment proceedings was stopped and that it was subsequently carried out through ‘Tom-Tom proclamation’. Considering the facts and prevailing social standards in the modern era, the committee decided to delete the sub-rule that provides for the ‘Tom-Tom proclamation’. The practice of beating drums to draw public attention dates back to the erstwhile royal era, when palace officials used it to inform people about royal decrees and public announcements. It was later adopted during the British era for court proceedings relating to property attachments. Download the TOI App.
Following the request, the matter was placed before the rule committee for examination with the permission of the Chief Justice.