Supreme Court Seeks Centre’s Plan For 135-Year-Old Central Secretariat Library Housing 8.5 Lakh Books

The bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva was hearing the suo motu matter concerning the proposed relocation of the library from Shastri Bhavan, which is set to be demolished as part of the Central Vista redevelopment.

The matter was registered after the Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance on October 3 of a September 30 report published by The Indian Express regarding the absence of adequate space for the library in the new Central Vista plan.

During the hearing, Justice Sanjay Kumar said the issue had been flagged by one of his former colleagues, a retired judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, who, he noted, was fond of paper but was now also appreciative of artificial intelligence.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati appeared for the Union of India. She informed the court that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta will be appearing in the matter.

Justice Kumar raised concerns over the space proposed for the library at Kartavya Bhavan and stressed that reducing the use of paper could not come at the cost of preserving valuable old records. He noted that the library's material dates back to 1891, with some writings dating back even further.

ASG Bhati submitted that two rooms were being allotted to the library at Kartavya Bhavan. She told the Court that the existing library had an area of around 4,144 square metres, while the proposed redevelopment envisaged approximately 5,200 square metres.

Justice Kumar, however, pointed out that the proposed space did not account for nearly two lakh books reportedly lying in RK Puram, which have remained unopened since 2011.

The Supreme Court directed the Centre to file a detailed affidavit setting out the actual layout plans and specifically indicating whether the proposed library would have adequate space to accommodate books presently stored in Shastri Bhavan as well as the nearly two lakh books stated to be lying in RK Puram car parks. It also sought details regarding adequate storage space for the collection, apart from conference rooms and other facilities proposed for the library.

The bench further requested Senior Advocate Hari Priya Padmanabhan to assist the Court in the matter and furnish the complete set of papers before the next hearing.

The Centre sought three weeks' time to file the detailed affidavit.

Accordingly, the Court directed the Centre to place the complete plans and layout before it, and posted the matter for further consideration.

Background

The Central Secretariat Library, spread over four floors in Shastri Bhavan, houses more than 8.5 lakh books, including rare books, official records and gazetteers. It also receives visitors including government officials and students preparing for competitive examinations. The library's oldest book, kept in a separate rare books section, is a compilation of writings by a French traveller dating back to 1702.

The proposed relocation followed a September 17 communication from the Central Public Works Department to ministries and departments housed in Shastri Bhavan, asking them to vacate the complex along with furniture, electronic items and other belongings at the earliest. The CPWD said the building had to be handed over by the end of September 2026 for commencement of construction work.

According to reports, the Directorate of Estates had in January allotted two rooms measuring around 300 square metres at Kartavya Bhavan-2 for the Central Secretariat Library. The Ministry of Culture, which administers the library, had reportedly rejected the proposed space as inadequate.