Regional Benches of Supreme Court- Benefits and Challenges- Explained Pointwise

The debate over the establishment of regional benches of Supreme Court has been reignited once again. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice apprised the Lok Sabha, that the Law Ministry has accepted its recommendation to establish regional benches of the Supreme Court across India.

However, the standing committee report also pointed out that the Supreme Court has been “consistently” rejecting the idea of establishment of regional benches. The matter of regional benches is sub judice with the SC.

What is the Constitutional Provision for the establishment of regional benches?

Constitutional Provision- The recommendations regarding establishment of regional benches find their root in Article 130 of the Constitution of India. Article 130 provides that the Supreme Court shall sit in Delhi or in such other place or places as the Chief Justice of India may, with the approval of the President, from time to time, appoint.

Recommendations of the Law Commission- The Eighteenth Law Commission in its 229th Report suggested that a Constitutional Bench be set up at Delhi and four Cassation Benches be set up in the Delhi (Northern region), Chennai/Hyderabad (Southern region), Kolkata (the Eastern region) and Mumbai (Western Region).
The cassation bench deals with all appellate work arising out of the orders/judgments of the High Courts of the particular region.

Note- Court of Cassation– Many countries around the world have instituted Courts of Cassation that decide cases involving non-Constitutional disputes and appeals from the lower level of courts. These are courts of last resort that have the power to reverse decisions of lower courts. (Cassation: annulment, cancellation, reversal).

Recommendations of Standing Committees of Parliament- Standing Committees of Parliament in 2004, 2005, and 2006, also recommended the establishment of regional benches.

What are the reasons behind the demand for Regional Benches of Supreme Court?

1. Geographical Bias in cases filed before the SC- There exists a geographical bias in cases filed before the SC, as the majority of cases before the Supreme Court are from High Courts close to Delhi.

2. Geographical barrier hindering citizen judicial activism- Citizen judicial activism has increased in recent years, with more citizens approaching the SC with PILs against the arbitrary or unjust actions of the state. However, the seat of SC only at Delhi, has created geographical barriers for many citizens to directly approach the Supreme court.

3. Disproportionate impact on Lawyer’s careers- The location of Supreme Court at Delhi has disproportionately impacted the legal careers of lawyers who cannot afford to relocate to Delhi.

4. Legal Marginalization of the Underprivileged- The location of SC makes it difficult for extensively underprivileged people living in the remotest areas of the country, as travelling to New Delhi or engaging expensive Supreme Court counsel to pursue a case is beyond the means of most litigants.

5. International examples- France, US have separated the court of appeal and courts of cassation, which has reduced the burden on their top-most judiciary.

What will be the advantages of these regional benches of Supreme Court?

1. Fulfilment of Constitutional Mandate of Article 39A- Article 39A of the constitution provides for the state to secure equitable access to justice for all. The regional benches will help in ensuring that justice reaches the doorsteps of citizens.

2. Reduction of Judicial Pendency- More than 80,000 cases are currently pending adjudication in the overburdened Supreme Court. The establishment of regional benches will increase the number of judges as well as lawyers in the SC and will boost the rate of case disposal.

3. Enhanced Focus on Constitutional matters- The principal bench in Delhi can exclusively focus on constitutional matters, while the regional benches can discharge appellate functions. The SC judges at the Principal court will get adequate time to properly scrutinise and pronounce impactful judgments in constitutional matters.

4. Democratisation of the SC Bar- The setting up of regional benches of SC, would lead to democratisation of the SC Bar by securing greater opportunities for lawyers belonging to different geographical regions. For ex- Division of the jurisdiction of the Tis Hazari Court into three different district courts of Saket, Rohini, and Karkardooma, has increased opportunities for young judges.

What are the arguments against the idea of Regional benches?

1. Dilution of sacrosanct nature of the Supreme Court- Critics argue that the idea of setting up regional benches will lead to Balkanization of the Supreme Court and lessen the binding force of the decisions of the Supreme Court.

2. Issue of Territorial jurisdiction and divergent views of Justice- The regional benches can create conflict by interfering in the territorial jurisdiction of the HCs. Also, there are challenges of emergence of divergent views which may adversely affect our justice system.

3. Increase in litigations- There are concerns regarding the increase in litigation due to frivolous petitions being filed with easier access to justice.

4. Huge infrastructural Cost- The establishment of regional benches of SC entails huge infrastructural cost in terms of Money and Human resources.

What should be the way forward?

Since the matter of regional benches is sub-judice, in the meantime we can adopt the following measures to enhance citizen’s accessibility to Justice from the SC.

1. Mechanism for Virtual Hearing in SC- Virtual hearings by can well be an alternative to regional benches. A mechanism for virtual hearing in the SC can be put in place, where preliminary and admission hearings are conducted virtually, while the final hearings are conducted physically.

2. Mechanism for Filing SLPs- Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) constitute over 90% of the Supreme Court’s case docket. A mechanism should be put in place where the Supreme Court would admit only those SLPs, which have been certified by the concerned High Courts.

3. Improving the efficiency of the existing courts- The judicial vacancies, Judicial infrastructure and Judicial Processes must be streamlined, would reduce the problem of Judicial pendency. For ex- All-India Judicial Service to boost the quality of judicial appointments.

4. Mechanism for Scrutiny of cases- The SC must also put in place a mechanism for scrutinising the types of petitions that are permitted to be admitted in the top court. Transfer petitions, arbitral appeals must be transferred to the respective HCs.

5. Retain the exclusive jurisdictional powers with the Principal SC- The principal bench of SC at Delhi must retain its original jurisdiction under Article 131, its advisory jurisdiction under Article 143, and its writ jurisdiction under Article 32 of the Constitution, even if the regional branches are established.