New Delhi, May 12: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has constituted a Judicial Infrastructure Advisory Committee to assess the growing infrastructure deficiencies in courts across the country and recommend a large-scale modernisation plan for the justice delivery system.
The committee, headed by Supreme Court judge Justice Aravind Kumar, has been tasked with conducting a nationwide assessment of judicial infrastructure requirements and preparing recommendations for improving court facilities, digital systems and operational efficiency. The panel is expected to support a proposal for a government allocation of nearly ₹40,000 crore to ₹50,000 crore towards judicial infrastructure development.
An interim report has been directed to be submitted by August 31.
The move comes amid increasing concern over inadequate court infrastructure, delays in case disposal, uneven digital access and poor working conditions in several courts across India. The committee has been constituted to identify structural and technological gaps affecting the administration of justice and recommend long-term reforms.
Apart from Justice Aravind Kumar, the committee 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. The Secretary General of the apex court will function as the Member Secretary of the committee.
The committee will examine infrastructure requirements for judges, lawyers, litigants and visitors in courts across the country. It has also been assigned the responsibility of recommending technology-based interventions to improve case management and accelerate the disposal of pending matters.
Key areas under review include computerisation of courts under the e-Courts initiative, strengthening citizen-centric digital services, development of modern court complexes and improving workplace facilities for judicial officers and court staff.
The development assumes significance as the Centre continues to expand the digitisation of courts under the e-Courts Mission Mode Project. The government has already sanctioned ₹7,210 crore for Phase III of the project covering the period from 2023 to 2027.
According to official plans, the initiative aims to transform Indian courts into digital and paperless institutions through digitisation of legacy judicial records, expansion of video conferencing facilities to courts, prisons and hospitals, universal saturation of e-Sewa Kendras and deployment of artificial intelligence-based tools for judicial processes.
The project also includes creation of cloud-based repositories for judicial data to improve accessibility and efficiency.
Earlier this year, the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice had raised concerns over the slow utilisation of funds by several states under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary.
In its 162nd Report on Demands for Grants for 2026-27, the parliamentary panel chaired by Rajya Sabha MP Brij Lal recommended stricter monitoring mechanisms to ensure timely completion of judicial infrastructure projects and effective utilisation of allocated funds.
The committee had also flagged inadequate digital infrastructure and weak network connectivity in several courts and recommended uniform technological upgrades across High Courts and subordinate courts nationwide.
