Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant has constituted a standing committee on judicial well-being to address occupational stress and other challenges affecting the mental and physical health of judicial officers across the country.

The five-member committee, chaired by Supreme Court judge Justice KV Viswanathan, was constituted on Saturday to mark World Mental Health Day.

It will identify areas requiring institutional intervention, facilitate coordination on welfare measures, develop guidance and periodically review initiatives undertaken to support judicial officers.

The committee is intended to serve as a continuing institutional mechanism to examine existing and emerging challenges to judicial well-being.

“The objective is to move beyond isolated interventions and establish a sustained framework for promoting judicial well-being across the judicial system,” a press release issued in this regard stated.

Besides Justice Viswanathan, the committee comprises-

- Dr. Savita Malhotra, former Dean of PGIMER, Chandigarh, and Professor and Head of the Department of Psychiatry.

- Rajat Mitra, psychologist and Director and Co-founder of the Swanchetan Society for Mental Health.

- Mrinal Kanwar, Advocate-on-Record at the Supreme Court.

- Aarti Singh, Registrar (Judicial) at the Supreme Court’s Centre for Research and Planning.

The committee's constitution follows research by the Centre for Research and Planning into the well-being of judicial officers serving in the district judiciary.

The research examined occupational stress, workload, mental and physical exhaustion, staffing shortages and infrastructural limitations. It also covered administrative responsibilities, transfers, work-life balance and the availability of institutional support.

"The findings provide an important foundation for developing evidence-based institutional measures to address these challenges," the press release said.

While explaining the need for the initiative, the Supreme Court referred to the demanding circumstances under which judicial officers work, including heavy caseloads, prolonged working hours, complex decision-making and administrative pressures.

Their responsibilities also involve exposure to emotionally challenging and sensitive cases, the release noted.

The initiative recognises that judges’ well-being is closely connected with the efficiency, quality and sustainability of the administration of justice.