Centre Has Approved Rs 800 Crores For Expansion Of Supreme Court Complex : Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Delivering the inaugural address at the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of the Supreme Court, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced today (January 28) that the Union Government has approved a sum of Rs.800 crores for expansion of the court's complex.

"I am also conscious of the difficulties being faced by you all in the present Supreme Court building...last week itself, the government has approved a sum of Rs.800 crores to be utilized for expansion of the Supreme Court Building Complex", said the PM.

It may be noted that few weeks ago, the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud had also said that the Supreme Court will have a new futuristic building soon.

The Diamond Jubilee celebrations held today marked the occasion of the Supreme Court replacing the Federal Court of India and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in 1950, as well as the beginning of its 75th year since coming into existence. They witnessed the Prime Minister launch citizen-centric information and technology initiatives that include Digital Supreme Court Reports (Digi SCR), Digital Courts 2.0 and new website of the Supreme Court. 

The Digital Supreme Court Reports (SCR) will make Supreme Court judgments available to the citizens of the country free of cost and in electronic format. The key features of digital SCR are that all 519 volumes of the Supreme Court reports since 1950, covering 36,308 cases, shall be available in a digital format, bookmarked, user friendly, and with open access.

Digital Courts 2.0 application is a recent initiative under the e-Courts project to make court records available to the Judges of the district courts in the electronic form. This is coupled with use of artificial intelligence (AI) for transcribing speech to text on a real time basis.

The Prime Minister's Address

PM Modi began his address by welcoming the distinguished guests, which included CJI DY Chandrachud, other puisne judges of the Supreme Court, judges from High Courts of India as well as foreign courts, Law Minister (Independent Charge) Arjun Ram Meghwal, Attorney General R Venkataramani, Supreme Court Bar Association President Dr. Adish C Aggarwala, and Bar Council of India Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra.

The PM said that the framers of our constitution had dreamt of an India imbibing principles of freedom, equality and justice and the Supreme Court has consistently tried to uphold and protect these principles. In its long journey spanning over 70 years, the top court has strengthened the vibrant democracy of India, by ensuring that there was freedom of expression, personal freedom and social justice. The court has delivered significant decisions on individual rights and freedom of speech, which have given a new direction to the country's socio-political makeup.

It was further urged that economic policies and laws of today will become basis of India's bright future tomorrow. In this regard, the PM recounted the recent revamping of India's criminal laws and said that the legal changes have ushered India's legal policing and investigative systems into a new era. He added that the exercise of training and capacity building of government officials has already begun.

To quote the PM, "Today, India's priority is ease of living, ease of doing business, ease of travelling, ease of communication and alongwith it ease of justice. Indian citizen deserves ease of justice and Supreme Court is the prime medium for it...I request the Supreme Court to come forward for capacity building of all stakeholders".

During his address, the PM highlighted that the entire justice delivery system depends on the guidance and directions of the Supreme Court. As such, it is a duty to ensure that every last corner of the nation has access to the top court, so every citizen's needs are met.

"With this thought in mind, the 3rd stage of e-court mission project has been approved and for the same, compared to the 2nd phase, 4 times more funds have been approved", the PM added.

Besides congratulating for the ease of justice initiatives, the Prime Minister expressed his pleasure at CJI Chandrachud himself monitoring the digitization process of courts across India. 

He also took the occasion to reflect upon the government's commitment to enhancing the physical infrastructure of courts. "Since 2014, more than Rs.7000 crores have been allocated for this purpose", the PM said.

The PM further spoke on how technology can assist in enhancing ease of justice and gave an example of how his address was being simultaneously interpreted in English with the help of Artificial Intelligence for some present in the audience.

"There may be hurdles initially, but this shows what miracles technology can do. By using such technology in our courts, the lives of common citizens can be made easy".

In closing, the PM addressed the fact that former Supreme Court judge and first woman Supreme Court judge, Justice Fathima Beevi was posthumously honoured with Padma Bhushan this year. He said that it was a matter of great pride for him.

Also read - CJI DY Chandrachud Stresses Need To Rethink Long Court Vacations, Says Adjournment Culture Must Change

On Supreme Court's Diamond Jubilee, CJI DY Chandrachud Showcases Milestones Of E-Court Services