CJI Constitutes Committee To Evaluate Judicial Infrastructure Across India
Panel to assess court infrastructure and accelerate judicial modernisation nationwide.
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has constituted a Judicial Infrastructure Advisory Committee to undertake a nationwide assessment of infrastructure requirements in courts, in a move aimed at strengthening India’s justice delivery system and improving judicial efficiency. The panel has been tasked with evaluating gaps in court infrastructure and recommending measures to modernise facilities across the country.
The committee will be headed by Supreme Court judge Justice Aravind Kumar and is expected to prepare a comprehensive roadmap for upgrading judicial infrastructure nationwide. According to official details, the panel may also recommend a government allocation of nearly Rs 40,000-50,000 crore for the sector. An interim report has been scheduled for submission by August 31.
Other members of the committee include Justice Debangsu Basak of the Calcutta High Court, Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, and Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan of the Bombay High Court. The Director General of the Central Public Works Department and the Secretary General of the Supreme Court of India will also serve on the panel, with the latter acting as Member Secretary.
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The committee is expected to identify constraints faced by judges, lawyers, litigants and court staff while examining ways to improve physical and digital infrastructure in courts. Its mandate includes recommending technology-driven solutions for faster disposal of cases, expansion of citizen-centric digital services, and development of modern court complexes with better working conditions for judicial officers and staff members.
The development comes amid the Centre’s continued push for digitisation of the judiciary through the e-Courts Mission Mode Project. The government has already allocated Rs 7,210 crore for Phase III of the initiative covering the 2023-2027 period. The programme aims to transform courts into digital and paperless institutions through measures such as digitisation of legacy records, expansion of video conferencing facilities, wider access to e-Sewa Kendras, deployment of artificial intelligence-based tools, and creation of cloud-based judicial data repositories.
Concerns over delays in utilisation of judicial infrastructure funds have also drawn attention in recent months. In March this year, the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, chaired by Rajya Sabha MP Brij Lal, highlighted the slow pace of expenditure by several states under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary. The committee recommended stricter monitoring mechanisms and flagged deficiencies in digital infrastructure and network connectivity in courts, calling for uniform technological upgrades across High Courts and subordinate courts nationwide.
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