Budgeting Better for Courts- An evaluation of the Rs 7460 crores released under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Judicial Infrastructure
An audit of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme in an attempt to decode budgeting process in the judiciary
Summary: This report provides an evaluation of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme on Judicial Infrastructure by identifying the issues in its design and its implementation.
The District Judiciary in India plays a crucial role in the administration of justice as it is often the first point of contact between citizens and the justice system. One of the reasons identified by the judiciary for the delays at the level of District Judiciary is the shortage of judges. One of the reasons for the judiciary not being able to fill its vacancies is the lack of courtrooms and residences to house new judges. Contrary to the usual narrative of under-funding for judicial infrastructure, the fact of the matter is that the Centre under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for the Judiciary (‘Scheme’) would have released Rs 7460.24 crores between 1993 and 2020, primarily for the District Judiciary. Despite this significant release, the District Judiciary has only 17,817 courtrooms available for itself against a sanctioned strength of 22,750 judges.
In this context, this report provides an evaluation of the Scheme which covers the construction of courtrooms and residential units for the District Judiciary. The Scheme is funded jointly by the Central and State Government, with the Department of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice being the nodal Ministry. The report identifies the issues related to design and practice at the Central level. Additionally, it also looks at the challenges faced by the State Governments in implementing the Scheme.
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About the Authors
Chitrakshi is a Research Fellow working in the area of Judicial Reforms. She has worked on areas such as judicial planning, transparency in the judiciary, and is currently studying the way the office of prosecution works in the criminal justice system in India. A 2014 graduate of NALSAR, Hyderabad she was working as a research associate for Centre for Social Justice, Ahmedabad, prior to joining Vidhi. Interested in pursuing research that lies at the intersection of law and social sciences, she completed her Masters in Politics from the University of Delhi and is also pursuing research at the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, JNU on urbanisation and governance.
Shreya is a Research Fellow working in the area of Judicial Reforms. She is currently working on topics such as diversity, infrastructure and efficient budgeting in the judiciary. Her areas of interest include Human Rights & Judicial Reforms. She has publications in the Economic and Political Weekly and other law & policy review journals. She has also published in the Outlook and platforms such as Hindustan Times and First Post. She graduated with B.B.A.LL.B. from National Law University, Odisha in 2018. During her time there she worked as a member of various organizing committees including TEDxNLUO and also worked as the head of the cultural committee of the college. Prior to joining Vidhi, she has interned in organizations like Nyaaya, CHRI, SAHRDC and PLD.
Tarika is a Research Fellow working in the area of Judicial Reforms. At Vidhi, she researches on transparency, efficient budgeting and technlogical intergration in the judiciary with an empirical lens. Her areas of interest include law and economics, and governance. Tarika graduated from Gujarat National Law University with B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) in 2017. She has publications in peer reviewed law and social sciences journals and online platforms like Economic and Political Weekly, The Economic Times and Oxford Human Rights Blog. Prior to joining Vidhi, she was working for Gujarat State Petronet Limited, a state Public Sector Undertaking in the oil and gas sector where she was involved in various litigation and arbitration matters. She has previously interned with the Law Commission of India and Hon’ble Justice N.V. Ramana at the Supreme Court. Tarika is a pop culture enthusiast and enjoys watching anime and rockumentaries in her free time.
