Context: The government has acknowledged the recommendation of the parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, advocating the establishment of regional benches for the Supreme Court.

• Despite the court's consistent rejection and the matter being sub-judice, the government has accepted the proposal.

• However, the standing committee report also pointed out that the Supreme Court has been “consistently” rejecting the idea of establishment of regional benches. The matter of regional benches is sub judice with the SC.

Report on Judicial Processes and Their Reforms

• The Standing Committee on Law and Personnel presented its action taken report on "Judicial Processes and Their Reforms" in the Lok Sabha.

• The government has accepted the committee’s earlier recommendation on the feasibility of regional benches of the Supreme Court.

What are the reasons behind the demand for Regional Benches of Supreme Court?

• Geographical Bias in cases filed before the SC: There exists a geographical bias in cases filed before the SC, as the majority of cases before the Supreme Court are from High Courts close to Delhi.

• Geographical barrier hindering citizen judicial activism: Citizen judicial activism has increased in recent years, with more citizens approaching the SC with PILs against the arbitrary or unjust actions of the state. However, the seat of SC only at Delhi, has created geographical barriers for many citizens to directly approach the Supreme court.

• Disproportionate impact on Lawyer’s careers: The location of Supreme Court at Delhi has disproportionately impacted the legal careers of lawyers who cannot afford to relocate to Delhi.

• Legal Marginalization of the Underprivileged: The location of SC makes it difficult for extensively underprivileged people living in the remotest areas of the country, as travelling to New Delhi or engaging expensive Supreme Court counsel to pursue a case is beyond the means of most litigants.

• International examples: France, US have separated the court of appeal and courts of cassation, which has reduced the burden on their top-most judiciary.

What will be the advantages of these regional benches of Supreme Court?

• Fulfilment of Constitutional Mandate of Article 39A: Article 39A of the constitution provides for the state to secure equitable access to justice for all. The regional benches will help in ensuring that justice reaches the doorsteps of citizens.

• Reduction of Judicial Pendency: More than 80,000 cases are currently pending adjudication in the overburdened Supreme Court. The establishment of regional benches will increase the number of judges as well as lawyers in the SC and will boost the rate of case disposal.

• Enhanced Focus on Constitutional matters: The principal bench in Delhi can exclusively focus on constitutional matters, while the regional benches can discharge appellate functions. The SC judges at the Principal court will get adequate time to properly scrutinise and pronounce impactful judgments in constitutional matters.

• Democratisation of the SC Bar: The setting up of regional benches of SC, would lead to democratisation of the SC Bar by securing greater opportunities for lawyers belonging to different geographical regions. For ex- Division of the jurisdiction of the Tis Hazari Court into three different district courts of Saket, Rohini, and Karkardooma, has increased opportunities for young judges.

Committee recommendations

• The committee has persistently recommended the establishment of regional benches and believes the Supreme Court can invoke Article 130 of the Constitution to set up regional benches at multiple locations across the country.

• The primary court in Delhi should continue to handle the interpretation of the Constitution and Constitutional matters, while the regional benches should be responsible for appellate matters only.

• However, the Committee noted that the decisions made by the appellate benches should not be viewed as an additional layer of the judiciary.

• Decisions made by the appellate benches shall be treated as final.

Rationale for Regional Benches

• The demand for regional benches is rooted in the principle of 'access to justice,' considered a fundamental right under the Constitution.

• Regional benches aim to bring justice to the doorstep of the common citizen, addressing a long-standing demand.

• Regional benches are seen as a potential solution to address the overflow of caseload and reduce litigation costs for citizens.

• Issues faced by litigants due to language barriers can be addressed.

Constitutional Perspective

• Article 130 of the Constitution states that the Supreme Court will sit in Delhi or such other place or places, as the Chief Justice of India may, with the approval of the President, from time to time, appoint.

Concerns about regional benches of the Supreme Court

• Establishing regional benches may compromise the unity, integrity, and majesty of the Supreme Court.

• Potential conflicts of views may arise, leading to challenges in resolution and increased time and costs for litigants.

• Regional benches can create conflict by interfering in the territorial jurisdiction of the HCs.

Road Ahead

• Since the matter of regional benches is sub-judice, in the meantime we can adopt the following measures to enhance citizen’s accessibility to Justice from the SC.

• Mechanism for Virtual Hearing in SC: Virtual hearings by can well be an alternative to regional benches. A mechanism for virtual hearing in the SC can be put in place, where preliminary and admission hearings are conducted virtually, while the final hearings are conducted physically.

• Mechanism for Filing SLPs: Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) constitute over 90% of the Supreme Court’s case docket. A mechanism should be put in place where the Supreme Court would admit only those SLPs, which have been certified by the concerned High Courts.

• Improving the efficiency of the existing courts: The judicial vacancies, Judicial infrastructure and Judicial Processes must be streamlined, would reduce the problem of Judicial pendency. For ex- All-India Judicial Service to boost the quality of judicial appointments.

• Mechanism for Scrutiny of cases: The SC must also put in place a mechanism for scrutinising the types of petitions that are permitted to be admitted in the top court. Transfer petitions, arbitral appeals must be transferred to the respective HCs.

• Retain the exclusive jurisdictional powers with the Principal SC: The principal bench of SC at Delhi must retain its original jurisdiction under Article 131, its advisory jurisdiction under Article 143, and its writ jurisdiction under Article 32 of the Constitution, even if the regional branches are established.