On Restructuring the Supreme Court – It’s time to revamp the structure of the Supreme Court

Source: The post on Restructuring the Supreme Court has been created on the article “It’s time to revamp the structure of the Supreme Court” published in “The Hindu” on 28^th November 2023.

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 2 Indian Polity – Structure, organization and functioning of the Judiciary.

News: The article discusses the issues with the functioning of the Supreme Court which necessitate reforms such as the constitution of a separate Constitutional Bench and regional benches.

What are the powers of the Supreme Court?

Original Jurisdiction: It decides disputes between different units of the Indian Federation. This includes any dispute between:
1. the Centre and one or more states; or
2. the Centre and any state or states on one side and one or more states on the other; or
3. between two or more states.

Appellate Jurisdiction: It is the highest court of appeal in the country. It hears appeals from lower courts and tribunals, both civil and criminal, ensuring uniformity in the interpretation and application of laws.

Advisory Jurisdiction: The President of India can seek advice from the Court on questions of law or fact that may appear before him/her.

Apart from this, it has the power of judicial review (reviewing the constitutionality of laws passed by the legislature and executive actions), the power to punish for its own contempt, as well as the power to issue writs (such as habeas corpus, mandamus, etc.) for the enforcement of the fundamental rights.

What are Constitution Benches?

Article 145(3) provides for the setting up of a Constitution Bench. It says a minimum of 5 judges need to sit for deciding a case involving a “substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution”.

This provision is also applicable to the Court hearing any reference under Article 143, which deals with the power of the President to consult the Court.

What are the issues with the working of the Court?

Backlog of Cases and Overburdening: There are 79,813 cases pending before the Supreme Court. It has been reduced to an appeals court, with only 4 of the 1,263 decisions issued in 2022 being issued by a Constitution Bench.

Lack of Access to The Supreme Court: It is reported that appeals in the Supreme court mostly comprised matters from High Courts that are geographically closer to the Supreme Court. Courts far away from the apex court had fewer appeals filed, due to both difficulties in accessibility and costs.

Due to this, there has been a demand for a structural change regarding accessibility, reducing workload, giving importance to Constitutional cases, etc. in the top court.

What are some suggestions to address these structural gaps in the Supreme Court?

1. 10th Law Commission (1984): It proposed that the Supreme Court be split into two divisions: Constitutional and Legal Division, with the Constitutional Division handling only issues pertaining to constitutional law. 11th Law Commission (1988) reiterated the same.
2. Supreme Court, in Bihar Legal Support Society v. CJI Case (1986), stated that it was “desirable” to establish a National Court of Appeal that would be able to entertain special leave petitions. This would allow the Supreme Court to only entertain constitutional and public law-related questions.
3. 229th Law Commission Report (2009) recommended 4 regional benches in Delhi, Chennai or Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai which would take up appellate responsibility, with a Constitution Bench in New Delhi working on a regular basis. This would divide the heavy backlog of non-constitutional cases among regional benches while also making them accessible.

What should be the way forward?

Constitution of regional benches, and a separate Constitution Bench should be the way forward, in line with the CJI’s recent announcement regarding his intent to create Constitution Benches as a permanent feature of the Court.

Terminology Used:

Special Leave Petition: Under this, the aggrieved party is provided a special permission to be heard in Apex Court, in appeal against the order or judgment of any court or tribunal in the territory of India, when any substantial question of law is involved, or gross injustice has been done.

Master of Roster: It refers to the privilege of the Chief Justice to constitute Benches to hear cases.

Question for practice: 

Constitution of regional benches and a separate Constitution Bench should be undertaken to ensure justice in India. Discuss.