Capacity building in judicial infrastructure crucial to meet emerging demands: CJI Surya Kant

Patna, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Saturday said that capacity building in judicial infrastructure is crucial to "meet the demands of a growing population, increasing litigation and disputes of rising complexity".

Justice Kant, who is on a two-day visit to Bihar, was addressing dignitaries after laying the foundation stone for seven infrastructure projects on the Patna High Court premises.

The seven projects include an ADR building and auditorium, an IT building, an administrative building, a multi-level car parking, a hospital, a residential block for ministerial staffers of the Patna High Court, and an annexe building of the office of advocate general.

"The laying of foundation stones for the administrative block, the IT block and other facilities of the Patna High Court is very crucial. I believe this occasion assumes a deeper resonance in Bihar, which is a land that occupies a distinctive place in India's civilisational memory," Justice Kant said in his address.

Capacity building implies that the ability to evolve hinges upon the groundwork for a justice system that can meet the demands of a growing population, increasing litigation and disputes of rising complexity, the CJI said.

He asserted that Bihar's civilisational wisdom has long recognised varying dimensions of justice, adding that 'nyaya' in the state is "a lived moral idea shaped by empathy, responsibility, and social consensus".

Kant stressed that courts need to be equipped with the support that allows "judicial authority to be exercised meaningfully".

"The first dimension of this effort is institutional capacity. A modern administrative block functions much like the nervous system of the court," he added.

Justice Kant asserted that the IT building will mark an important transition from courts that are "paper-heavy and time-intensive" to the ones that "are data-informed, digitally enabled and user-centric".

He said the ADR building and auditorium will serve as a "place of learning and exchange by hosting, among other things, ADR initiatives and conversations that will strengthen the relationship between Bar and the Bench".

Justice Kant also highlighted the importance of a hospital facility within the court premises because "justice is delivered by human beings and not machines".

He asserted that integration of healthcare facilities within the court complex symbolises that "well-being is not peripheral to justice, but an integral part of it".

An institution that cares for its people is better equipped to protect the rights and dignity of others, he asserted.

The CJI also launched a new application, e-ACR Nyaya, which is designed to modernise the process of filing and processing of the annual confidential reports online.

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