Supreme Court issues notice on plea seeking 'Judicial Vista', central authority to fund court infra

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to its administrative wing and the Central government on a petition seeking the creation of a 'Judicial Vista' around the existing premises of the top court, as well as a central authority to fund judicial infrastructure. .A Bench of Justices Vineet Saran and Aniruddha Bose issued notice in the public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by Supreme Court Advocate-On-Record Ardhendumauli Kumar Prasad, who appeared in person. Citing the space crunch in the existing premises for judges, advocates as well as litigants, the petitioner prayed for the redevelopment of the area around the top court as a Judicial Vista. It also sought the creation of centrally-regulated authority funded entirely out of the Consolidated Fund of India to allocate resources for development of judicial infrastructure at courts and tribunals across the country.Pointing out that workload and the number of judges, advocates and litigants have only increased whereas the size of the premises has not, the plea called for the construction of:A multi-level complex with 45-50 courtrooms and 5,000 chambers for lawyers;10,000 car capacity underground parking facility;Adequate office, working and waiting space for law officers, advocates, standing counsel etc;Library, medical and photocopying facilities;Dedicated office space for all lawyer associations and bar councils..In March last year, Chief Justice of India NV Ramana (then a puisne judge) had, reflecting on the poor conditions at some courts, said that the Central and State governments should come together to create a National Judicial Infrastructure Corporation to cater to the rising need for judicial infrastructure in the country."Talking of impediments in the path of modernisation, financial constraints must never come in the path of progress. There is a need for the Centre and States to co-operate and create a National Judicial Infrastructure Corporation, as a one- time measure, to cater to the need for judicial infrastructure in the country. Such a corporation would bring the uniformity and standardization required to revolutionize judicial infrastructure," he had said.In February this year, CJI Ramana called out the lack of adequate support from the government in improving judicial infrastructure in the country.The CJI had said that mere allocation of funds will not be enough for the same and an institutional mechanism needs to be put in place for coordinating and overseeing improvement of judicial infrastructure."Mere allocation of funds is not enough. The challenge is to put the available resources to optimum use. I have been pursuing the government for setting up of statutory authorities, both at the Centre and at the States. I am hoping for a positive response soon," he said.While judicial infrastructure needs to be improved, they have unfortunately not been meeting the basic minimum standards in the area, he had said.