Judicial Infrastructure Panel Submits Blueprint for Court Modernisation to CJI
Supreme Court panel submits interim report on modernising court infrastructure, including tech upgrades and financial requirements.
A high-level committee formed to evaluate the infrastructure needs of India's judiciary has submitted its interim report to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. The Judicial Infrastructure Advisory Committee, established on May 12, 2026, was tasked with assessing the current state of court facilities and determining the financial and governmental support required to address deficiencies.
The panel is chaired by Supreme Court judge Justice Aravind Kumar. Its members include justices from the Calcutta, Punjab and Haryana, and Bombay High Courts, alongside the Director General of the Central Public Works Department and the Supreme Court's Secretary General, who serves as member secretary.
According to the Supreme Court's press statement, the committee has prepared a blueprint for modernising courts nationwide. The plan identifies infrastructural constraints affecting the justice delivery system and recommends improvements to facilities for judges, court staff, lawyers, litigants, and visitors.
Beyond physical infrastructure, the committee's mandate covered the computerisation of courts under the e-Courts initiative. It also proposed citizen-centric services to make justice delivery more inclusive and suggested measures to bridge the digital divide. The panel examined ways to establish modern court complexes and improve working conditions for judicial officers and administrative staff to boost efficiency.
The report arrives amid growing concerns about the judiciary's capacity to handle rising case pendency. Courts continue to face shortages of courtrooms and staff, inadequate basic amenities, and uneven access to technology. These issues have gained urgency following a reduction in the Union Budget allocation for the Ministry of Law and Justice for 2026-27.
The Ministry has been allocated ₹4,509.06 crore for the current fiscal year, down from ₹4,998.24 crore in the previous year's Budget. The figure is also significantly lower than the revised estimate of ₹5,189 crore for 2025-26.