The response of the Union Law Ministry to the recommendations which were made for judicial reforms in the 133rd Report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice were presented before the Rajya Sabha on August 7, 2023, and tabled before the Lok Sabha on the same day.
The recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee’s were accepted by the Union Law Ministry to establish regional benches of the Supreme Court throughout India.
The recommendations to publish annual reports of all High Court and the Supreme Court was also accepted.
The 133rd Report by Committee puts forward 22 recommendations including increase in the retirement age of High Court and Supreme Court judges, greater social diversity in judicial appointments, and reassessment of post-retirement assignments for judges.
In the report titled ‘144th Report on Action Taken on the 133rd Report of the Committee on the Subject “Judicial Processes and Their Reforms.
The Recommendations were for establishing four or five regional benches of the Supreme Court across the country. for helping with the overflowing caseload of the judiciary.
The committee has said that the Supreme Court is in Delhi which leads to trouble for those litigants who are coming from far-flung areas of the country.
The committee said that the firt problem was that of the language problem, then finding lawyers, the cost of litigation, travel, and staying in Delhi makes justice very costly…
The Committtee recommended that interpretation of Constitution and Constitutional matters may be dealt at Delhi and the regional benches may decide appellate matters..
As per the Action Taken Report, the matter was referred to the Attorney General twice for the opinion.
Although the committee recommended invoking Article 130 of the Constitution, that gives power to Chief Justice of India for designating sitting places for the Supreme Court, the Attorney Generals in 2010 and 2016, called the proposal potentially detrimental to the court’s unity and integrity.
The matter remains sub-judice before a Constitutional Bench. The Supreme Court has been consistently rejecting the proposal for setting up of the Benches of Supreme Court at a place outside Delhi.
The Committtee also recommended preparation and publication of annual reports by court by the Apex Court and all High Courts.
The Supreme Court has been actively publishing its report but a very few High Courts publish one.
The Action Taken Report states that the Department of Justice, on June 19, 2023, urged the Chief Justice of India and Chief Justices of all the High Courts to follow the format set by the Orissa High Court in order to ensure uniformity in reporting standards.