Judicial Infrastructure in India
Current State and Locations
- Company law tribunals operate from the Central government office complex in New Delhi.
- The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal and Delhi State Bench of the GST Appellate Tribunal function from Hotel Samrat in Chanakyapuri.
- Lawyers face challenges with inadequate infrastructure, such as parking and traffic issues near courts.
Challenges and Initiatives
The legal system in India struggles with inadequate infrastructure, contributing to high case pendency across the country.
- Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant, has initiated measures to address these issues by setting up an advisory panel.
- The Judicial Infrastructure Advisory Committee will assess infrastructure needs and seek a government allocation of ₹40,000-50,000 crore.
- The committee will submit findings to Sanjeev Sanyal from the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council by August 31.
Panel Composition
- Supreme Court judge Aravind Kumar will head the panel.
- Members include justices Debangsu Basak, Ashwani Kumar Mishra, Somasekhar Sundaresan, the director general of the Central Public Works Department, and the secretary general of the Supreme Court.
Statistics and Observations
As of March, the Supreme Court had 93,143 pending cases, marking a three-decade high.
- India’s judge-to-population ratio is approximately 22 per million, with 21,027 working judges against a sanctioned strength of 25,894.
- Appointing more judges necessitates the expansion of the current 22,712 courtrooms.
Tribunal Infrastructure Concerns
- Issues with tribunal infrastructure, such as inadequate facilities and lack of dignity for tribunal members, have been raised.
- Supreme Court benches have criticized the Centre for poor infrastructure in tribunals like NCLT and NCLAT.
- Former tribunal leaders have highlighted constraints like lack of permanent staff and courtroom space.
Advisory Committee's Mandate
- The committee will identify bottlenecks and propose improvements for judges, lawyers, litigants, and court visitors.
- It will explore technology-driven solutions for faster case disposal and digital management.
- Plans include enhancing citizen-centric services, developing modern court complexes, and improving judicial officer working conditions.
Recent Developments
- The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to increase the Supreme Court's sanctioned strength from 33 to 37 judges.
- This is part of efforts to improve judicial infrastructure and expedite justice delivery.
- Monitoring mechanisms for judiciary infrastructure projects are being tightened and reviewed by various committees and audits.
