PM Modi Sanctions Rs 800 Crore for Supreme Court Expansion, Prioritizes Legal Modernization and Digital Access

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the government has approved Rs 800 crore for the expansion of the Supreme Court building complex and hoped that it would not be challenged as was done in case of new Parliament building.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the diamond jubilee celebration of the Supreme Court, he stressed that the ease of justice is the right of every citizen and the Supreme Court to engage in capacity building for all stakeholders to ensure seamless transition from old laws to new regime.

He underlined the need to capitalise on all opportunities coming to the way and mentioned ease of living, ease of doing business, travel, communication and ease of justice as the nation’s top priorities.

“Ease of justice is the right of every Indian citizen and the Supreme Court of India, its medium,” he said.

Mentioning that the entire justice system in the country is administered and guided by the Supreme Court, the PM Modi referred to the government’s prioritisation towards making the Supreme Court accessible to the remotest parts and mentioned giving acceptance to the third phase of the E-Courts Mission Project.

He said that the fund allocation for the third phase has been increased four times more than the second phase.

He expressed delight that the digitisation of all courts in the country is being monitored by the CJI himself.

The Prime Minister said he is aware of the problems faced by people in the existing Supreme Court building and last week, the government has sanctioned Rs 800 crore for Supreme Court building expansion.

"Hope no one files a petition in the court terming it as wasteful expenditure, like it was done for the new Parliament building," he said.

Underscoring the essence of Indian values and modernity in legal framework, the Prime Minister said there was a need for the laws to reflect both Indian ethos and contemporary practices.

“The convergence of Indian values and modernity is equally essential in our legal statutes. The government is actively working on modernizing laws to align with the present situation and best practices,” he said.

In his speech, he highlighted the significance of transitioning from centuries-old laws to new statutes, i e, the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Samhita, Bhartiya Nyaya Samhita, and Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam.

"The transition from old laws to new ones should be seamless, which is imperative," he said.

The Prime Minister also launched three technology initiatives - Digital Supreme Court Reports (Digi SCR), Digital Courts 2.0 and a new website of the Supreme Court. Digi SCR will make Supreme Court judgments available to people free of cost and in electronic format while Digital Courts 2.0 application is meant for the judges of the district courts to access court records in electronic form. The new Supreme Court website will be in bilingual format in English and Hindi and has been redesigned with a user-friendly interface.