NEW DELHI: Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna has unveiled a new roster for the allocation of fresh cases to 16 benches in the Supreme Court, which came into effect on November 11. Under this new arrangement, the first three courts—presided over by the Chief Justice and the two senior-most judges—will handle letter petitions and public interest litigations (PILs). This move is aimed at streamlining case distribution and ensuring a focused approach to critical matters.
The CJI-led bench will be responsible for hearing a wide range of important issues, including social justice cases, election disputes concerning the President, Vice President, and the election of Members of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies. Additionally, the CJI bench will handle habeas corpus matters and arbitration-related cases. Justice B R Gavai and Justice Surya Kant, the two senior-most judges, will also preside over cases related to elections and PILs, ensuring that such critical matters receive adequate attention.
The allocation of subjects to different benches has been structured to streamline case management, with each bench dealing with specific subject areas. Justice JB Pardiwala, who previously shared a bench with former CJI D.Y. Chandrachud, will now handle cases related to direct and indirect taxes, as well as ordinary civil cases. The new arrangement is expected to improve efficiency and expedite the disposal of cases by assigning them to the most relevant bench.
In addition to the Chief Justice and the two senior-most judges, the roster includes 13 other judges who will preside over various specialized matters. These judges include Justices Hrishikesh Roy, A.S. Oka, Vikram Nath, J.K. Maheshwari, B.V. Nagarathna, C.T. Ravikumar, M.M. Sundresh, Bela M. Trivedi, P.S. Narasimham, Sudhanshu Dhulia, Dipankar Datta, and Pankaj Mithal. The new roster is designed to ensure a more organized and effective approach to the handling of cases in the Supreme Court.
