Judicial Administration Reset: Supreme Court Forms 26 Committees for Governance, Technology & Backlog Reduction

The reconstituted committees has come into effect from November 25, December 8 and December 11, 2025, and will continue until further orders.

The reorganisation has been entrusted with a central role across multiple committees. They will serve on the Finance Committee, the Departmental Promotion Committee of Gazetted Officers, the Security Committee, the Building and Precinct Supervisory Committee, the Bar Grievance Redressal Committee and the Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee. They will also part of panels overseeing staff welfare, medical facilities, screening of senior registry officers and the allotment of lawyers’ chambers.

Justice B.V. Nagarathna has similarly been assigned to several critical committees, including those dealing with finance, departmental promotions, law clerks, security, family court matters, bar grievances, medical facilities and accreditation of legal correspondents. Her role spans both administrative oversight and justice delivery reforms.

Justice P.S. Narasimha will head or serve on committees central to judicial reform, including the Supreme Court Rules Committee, the Committee for PIL Matters, the Technology Supervisory Committee, the digitisation and preservation of case records committee, and the Model Case Flow Management Committee for the Supreme Court. He will also serve on the Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee and the Bar Grievance Redressal Committee.

Several committees have been specifically tasked with tackling judicial backlog and systemic delays. Separate panels have been formed to frame Model Case Flow Management Rules for trial courts, district appellate courts, High Courts and the Supreme Court. These committees have also been asked to suggest concrete plans for reducing arrears at each level of the judicial hierarchy. Justice M.M. Sundresh, Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Sandeep Mehta will play key roles in these efforts.

A dedicated committee has also been set up to make suggestions for reducing the pendency of criminal cases across trial courts, High Courts and the Supreme Court. In a notable move, the Court has included academic expertise on this panel, with Prof. (Dr.) G.S. Bajpai, Vice Chancellor of National Law University, Delhi, joining Justices M.M. Sundresh, Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi.

Digitisation and technology form another major focus of the reconstitution. The Technology Supervisory Committee will be headed by Justice P.S. Narasimha along with Justices K.V. Viswanathan and Joymalya Bagchi. A separate committee will oversee scanning, digitisation and preservation of case records, reflecting the Court’s push towards long-term digital infrastructure and record management.

Other specialised committees address areas such as security, library services, cultural events, advocates-on-record examinations, accreditation of legal correspondents and oversight of Supreme Court guest house facilities. Editorial oversight has been entrusted to a committee comprising Justices Dipankar Datta, K. Vinod Chandran and Joymalya Bagchi.

The Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee will continue to include judicial members along with Senior Advocate Rakesh Khanna and representatives from NALSA and the MCPC, underscoring the Court’s continued emphasis on alternative dispute resolution.