It is a leap of faith from both sides – Anup Surendranath on becoming Deputy Registrar (Research) at the Supreme Court

As reported yesterday, Anup Surendranath, an Assistant Professor at the National Law University, Delhi has been appointed as Deputy Registrar (Research) at the Supreme Court of India. In this e-mail interview with Bar & Bench, Surendranath shares his thoughts on the new position, his plans in the next coming weeks and the kind of team he is looking to build.

Bar & Bench: Deputy Registrar (Research) in the Supreme Court of India – That is quite an interesting position. How did it come about?

Anup Surendranath: It started with a meeting at the Supreme Court where I was accompanying the Vice-Chancellor (Professor Ranbir Singh) and the Registrar (Professor Srikrishna Deva Rao) to discuss a matter completely unrelated to this. A couple of days after the meeting I got a call from the administrative wing of the court asking me if I would be interested in working with the Chief Justice of India as Deputy Registrar (Research). If I were to accept it, I was told that they would request the University to send me on deputation for one year to begin with.

I was informed the role would involve working closely with the Chief Justice on any research and intellectual inputs he might need, work towards establishing a permanent Research Unit at the court and also consider institutional reforms that are required. 

B&B:  Can you tell us a bit about your future plans?

AS: Quite honestly, I think it is a leap of faith from both sides. The court has been open enough to consider a complete outsider for this role and in the conversations so far, that is being viewed as an advantage. Not being a part of the system at the Supreme Court in any relevant sense, the idea is that I will bring a fresh look on the way things can be done. And from my end, it is a system that is quite alien. The university model at NLU Delhi and the Supreme Court are worlds apart. Of course, the first task for me will be to thoroughly understand the systems and processes that drive the functioning of the Court.

The Research Unit is an initiative that is much needed for an institution like the Supreme Court of India – given its workload and the limitations within which it operates. The challenge is to imagine a Research Unit that is relevant to the functioning of the court and can contribute substantively to the quality of adjudication. Of course, there are the law clerks but the imagination of a Research Unit cannot be limited to that. The law clerks model has its own limitations and the idea will be to identify the different points at which the Research Unit can contribute. And I am hoping that the Court will be open to fine-tuning the law clerks model itself.

In terms of institutional reforms, the first task is to undoubtedly familiarise myself with the significant body of work on this issue. Reports of the Department of Personnel and Training, IIM reports, various committee reports will have to be studied closely to ensure that we are not reinventing the wheel. The idea is to understand the recommendations that have been made, suggest relevant changes (if at all) and most importantly to work out a plan for incremental implementation of the reforms that are agreed upon by the relevant authorities. One of the early things to do would be to identify institutional processes that require immediate attention and apart from that, also identify those processes that can be changed quite easily but will nonetheless contribute to a more open and accessible Supreme Court.

I have also been told that I will have the freedom to build teams to achieve the above two goals but that is of course a task that will take some time.

Something I am keen to do is begin an effective dialogue amongst various stakeholders to understand their concerns and listen to their suggestions. I am completely aware that various people have thought about different aspects of the Court’s functioning in a lot more detail than I have. I would see my role in bringing all of that together towards developing models that further openness, transparency, diversity and equality of access.

B&B: In your interactions with the current CJI and other Supreme Court judges, what has been your impression of the institution?

AS: It’s been less than a week since I joined and have had the chance to interact only with the Chief Justice and the top rung of the Registry. All conversations have demonstrated a serious acknowledgment of the need for critical changes and a remarkable willingness to consider ideas and suggestions. 

B&B: In terms of building a team – what is the team composition you looking at?

AS: It will undoubtedly have to be a multi-disciplinary team if we want to achieve the kind of things that are being set out. We will need individuals who can take a very close look at the management of the various processes of the Court, also those who can bring in advanced statistical expertise and critical insights into organisational behaviour might be important. In addition to that and from the conversations so far, there is significant interest in increasing the use of technology to achieve more efficiency. All of these are conversations to be had after understanding the efforts that have already been made in these directions.

Of course, individuals with a legal background will play a critical role in fulfilling the mandate of the Research Unit.

B&B: Last question, were you surprised at the offer being made in the first place?

AS: Absolutely. I think the nature of the role, the fact of me being a complete outsider and the kind of flexibility that was being offered all contributed to that feeling. I have no doubt there will be significant challenges but it is a rare opportunity to contribute to institutional change and I am hoping that lasting contributions can be made.