New Delhi
In a move aimed at strengthening the justice delivery system, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant has constituted a Judicial Infrastructure Advisory Committee to evaluate the infrastructural requirements of courts nationwide.
The committee, headed by Supreme Court judge Justice Aravind Kumar, has been tasked with preparing an assessment of judicial infrastructure needs nationwide and is expected to make a case for a government allocation of around Rs 40,000-50,000 crore for the sector.
An interim report has been directed to be submitted by August 31. Apart from Justice Aravind Kumar, the panel includes 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 as members. The Director General of the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), New Delhi, and the Secretary General of the Supreme Court of India will also be part of the panel, with the latter serving as Member Secretary.
The committee is expected to map infrastructural gaps across courts and recommend measures aimed at modernising judicial facilities and improving efficiency in the administration of justice.
Its proposed areas of focus include identifying constraints faced by stakeholders in the justice delivery system, suggesting adequate infrastructure for judges, lawyers, litigants and visitors, and recommending technology-driven interventions for faster disposal of cases.
The panel is also expected to examine issues relating to the computerisation of courts under the e-Courts initiative, citizen-centric digital services, the establishment of modern court complexes, and the improvement of working conditions for judicial officers and court staff.
The development assumes significance amid growing focus on judicial infrastructure and the digitisation of courts across the country. The Centre has also been pushing the digitisation of the judiciary under the e-Courts Mission Mode Project.
The government has allocated Rs 7,210 crore for Phase-III of the e-Courts Mission Mode Project (2023-2027), aimed at transforming Indian courts into digital and paperless institutions.
According to the government, the initiative includes digitisation of legacy records, expansion of video conferencing facilities to courts, jails and hospitals, universal saturation of e-Sewa Kendras, deployment of artificial intelligence-based tools, and creation of cloud-based repositories for judicial data.