Calling for a fundamental reimagining of judicial infrastructure in the country, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Sunday advocated for the establishment of integrated district court complexes across Haryana on the lines of the unified judicial campuses functioning in Uttar Pradesh. The CJI said the justice delivery system must evolve in tandem with rapid economic growth and the changing nature of litigation.
Addressing the gathering following the inauguration of the newly constructed Tower of Justice in Gurugram, the CJI made it clear judicial infrastructure could no longer be viewed merely as a matter of construction but as an indispensable pillar of the constitutional promise of timely and effective justice. As commercial activity expands and legal disputes become increasingly specialised, the courts, the CJI said, must also be organised in a manner that served litigants with greater efficiency and convenience.
The CJI proposed that future district court complexes be conceived as integrated judicial campuses housing different forums—such as labour courts, family courts, consumer courts and even environmental courts—within a single precinct. The CJI said such integrated complexes would significantly enhance convenience for litigants, lawyers and all stakeholders associated with the justice delivery system.
CJI Surya Kant urged the Haryana Government to extend full support in developing similar integrated court complexes not only in Gurugram but across Haryana. Explaining why Gurugram deserved world-class judicial infrastructure, the CJI said the city's extraordinary economic transformation had naturally led to a corresponding rise in legal disputes. Wherever commerce flourished, the CJI observed, commercial disagreements inevitably followed, making robust dispute-resolution mechanisms an institutional necessity rather than an administrative choice.
Noting that more than half of the Fortune 500 companies had offices in Gurugram and that over 1,500 companies and startups operated in and around the city, the CJI said the region's emergence as a major commercial hub demanded judicial infrastructure capable of responding to increasingly complex litigation.
Drawing attention to the mounting docket before the district judiciary, the CJI said nearly 24,000 cases, including around 1,000 commercial disputes, were presently pending before the district courts in Gurugram. In addition, there were about 1 lakh cases under the Negotiable Instruments Act. Such figures, he said, underlined the pressing need to continuously strengthen judicial capacity and infrastructure
CJI Surya Kant described judicial infrastructure as the "first aid" available to every litigant entering the justice delivery system. Just as a patient expected immediate care upon reaching a hospital, a citizen approaching a court must find an institution equipped to respond promptly and effectively. Judicial infrastructure, the CJI emphasised, was therefore not a matter of luxury but of necessity if the constitutional guarantee of speedy justice was to have any real meaning.
CJI Surya Kant said it was the judiciary's responsibility to create an atmosphere of confidence where every litigant entered a courtroom with the assurance that justice would ultimately prevail. The CJI laid particular emphasis on making court complexes more inclusive for women. Referring to a nationwide survey conducted with the help of the Supreme Court Bar Association, the CJI said it had revealed that in several places even basic amenities for women advocates had remained neglected for years.
Every new judicial complex, the CJI asserted, must provide dignified and adequate facilities for women, including properly designed common areas and other essential amenities. Such facilities, he said, were integral to a modern justice delivery system and could not be treated as secondary considerations.
CJI Surya Kant further referred to the role of technology in reducing delays, observing that digital tools could meaningfully accelerate disposal of cases only when supported by appropriate physical infrastructure. The Tower of Justice, he asserted had been equipped with modern technological facilities that would facilitate greater use of digital processes in court functioning. He also pointed out that the number of judicial officers had increased during the period in which the Tower of Justice was under construction. Simultaneously, growing public confidence in the judicial system had resulted in a steady increase in litigation, with courts today dealing with several categories of disputes that were virtually unknown a decade ago.
Expressing confidence that future demands on the justice delivery system would continue to grow, the CJI said he was certain the Haryana Government would continue extending full institutional support to strengthen judicial infrastructure in anticipation of emerging requirements. For CJI Surya Kant, the inauguration also marked a personal milestone. Recalling that he had participated in the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony for the project in January 2017 while serving as Chairman of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Building Committee, he described the completion of the Tower of Justice as the fulfilment of a long-cherished institutional vision that had taken shape through sustained efforts over the years.