Judicial infrastructure in the Northeast

Quality infrastructure plays a crucial role in the faster disposal of court litigation and reducing the load of pending cases. Construction of modern court buildings equipped with adequate court rooms, modern technologies, and quarters for judges and judicial officers is critical to improving justice delivery at all levels. Failure to optimally utilize funds available for the creation of judicial infrastructure is also posing hurdles in filling up vacancies in the judiciary against sanctioned strength. A latest report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievance, Law, and Justice has brought to the fore that gaps in the region to comply with the new procedure for release of funds through the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) for all Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) have added to the problem of timely utilisation of allocated funds for the creation of judicial infrastructure in the Northeast region. The report highlights that though the primary responsibility for the creation of judicial infrastructure lies with the state government, the central government has been allocating funds under the CCS for the development of judicial infrastructure since 1993–94. The objective of the scheme is to improve the physical infrastructure of the subordinate courts, including court buildings and the housing needs of judicial officers in district and subordinate courts, but it does not cover High Court buildings. Apart from court buildings and quarters for judges and judicial officers, the scheme, extended until March 2026, now also covers the construction of toilets, rooms for digital infrastructure, and lawyers’ halls. Under the PFMS for all CSS, the government has made it mandatory to designate a Single Nodal Agency (SNA) for each CSS, register the SNA in the PFMS, and open the bank account of each SNA. Scheme-wise, single accounts are to be opened at the state level, wherein the central share (within 20 days of receipt of the central share) and the state share (within 40 days of receipt of the central share) are to be deposited by the state at the stipulated time. The parliamentary panel found that Meghalaya is the best performing state amongst the North-Eastern states in terms of receipt and utilisation of funds under the scheme, but at the same time, no funds were released to Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura in 2022–23 due to a pending unspent balance. The report reveals that against the sanctioned strength of judicial officials in the eight NE states of 950, the working strength is 753, implying that more than 20% of total sanctioned strength is lying vacant. Other highlights of available infrastructure show that there are 728 court halls out of which 709 are government-owned and 19 are running on rented premises, while 194 court halls are under construction, and there are 623 residential units out of which 510 are government-owned and 113 are rented buildings. Altogether, 148 residential units are under construction. The committee cautions : “It does not augur well for a vibrant and aspirational democracy to have courts that are functioning from dilapidated rented premises with insufficient space and which lack basic amenities like toilets, water connections, proper electricity supply, etc. Although the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary is a ray of hope in an otherwise gloomy scenario, it is imperative to enhance the share of North Eastern States under the Scheme.” The new PFMS guidelines say that further installments of funds to the states and Union Territories will be released only after the utilisation of at least 75% of the funds already released. Delay in utilisation of unspent balance will only delay the construction work and continue to pose hurdles to the functioning of the judiciary at full sanctioned strength. As a result, the number of pending cases in courtrooms will continue to rise, increasing the burden for serving judges and judicial officers. The parliamentary committee has recommended that 10% of the state quota may also be relaxed for the NE states, subject to subsequent recovery from the concerned state, so that the ongoing projects are not stalled “for want of such a meagre amount of money.” Improving judiciary infrastructure is crucial for improving justice delivery. The states in the region also need to earmark adequate funds in their annual budget for the timely release of state shares to demonstrate their commitment to the cause. The Committee also acknowledged the problem of a short working season, making movement of men and material difficult over inhospitable terrain and meeting target datelines difficult on account of time and cost overruns. In addition to high transportation costs adding to material costs, later receipt of project proposals and delay in submission of utilisation certificates are also identified by the panel as key factors affecting fund flow in the region. Most of these problems are known beforehand at the state of project planning and estimation of expenditure. States in the region must build their capacities to overcome these problems. Delays in fund utilisation and project execution must not be allowed to derail justice delivery improvements in the region.