Parliament Question: Infrastructure development

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2355 ANSWERED ON – 12/03/2026 INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMEMNT 2355 SHRI RAGHAV CHADHA:

Will the Minister of Law and Justice be pleased to state:

(a) the quantum of funds allocated and utilised for judicial infrastructure development during the last five years, year-wise and State-wise;

(b) whether it is a fact that shortages of courtrooms, judges, staff and basic facilities persist and if so, the reasons therefor supported by vacancy data, courtroom-to-population ratio and facility audit reports;

(c) the steps taken to ensure uniform infrastructure standards across States, including benchmarks, monitoring mechanisms and compliance statistics;

(d) the details on progress in e-Courts, digitisation and technology integration, with usage and coverage data; and

(e) the gaps in implementation which are identified through independent inspections, with corrective actions and timelines? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL)

(a): The quantum of funds allocated and utilised for judicial infrastructure development during the last five years, year-wise and State-wise is at Annexure-I.

(b): The primary responsibility for development of infrastructure facilities for District and Subordinate Courts rests with the State Governments/UTs. However, to augment the resources of States/UTs, Central Government has been implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for the Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary in the District and Subordinate Courts since 1993-94, by providing financial assistance in the prescribed fund sharing pattern between the Centre and States/UTs. The Scheme covers five components, namely, Court Halls, Residential Units for Judicial Officers, Lawyers’ Halls, Toilet Complexes and Digital Computer Rooms.

1As on 28.02.2026, against the sanctioned strength of 25,894 judges and working strength of 21,027 judges, 22,712 Court Halls are available. At present, the judge-to-population ratio in the country works out to be approximately 22 Judges per million population.

(c): The norms and specifications of court infrastructure have been calculated based on recommendations of the National Court Management Systems Committee (NCMS) of the Supreme Court in the Baseline Report on Court Development Planning System, existing norms and practice being followed by State Governments concerned and CPWD/PWD norms.

Effective monitoring mechanisms are also in place for time bound and sustainable infrastructure developments in the States/UTs. There is a Central Level Monitoring Committee in the Department of Justice, chaired by Secretary (Justice) and a High Court Level Monitoring Committee in the State, chaired by the Chief Justice of the respective High Courts to review the physical and financial progress of the projects under the Scheme. Additionally, an online monitoring mechanism namely ‘Nyaya Vikas’ portal has also been developed for collection of data on progress and time bound completion of judicial infrastructure projects.

(d): Under the eCourts Project, approximately 1.07 crore cases have been filed through e-filing and e-payments system has processed transactions for court-fee worth Rs. 1,404 crore. 660.36 crore pages of court records have been have been digitized. Under the National Service and Tracking of Electronics Processes (NSTEP) system, the courts have processed 7.26 crore e- processes, out of which 2.09 crore e-processes have been successfully delivered. Video Conferencing facilities have been expanded across 3,240 court complexes and 1,272 jails, facilitating remote hearings of under-trials, witnesses and lawyers. Litigants can access case information in respect of over 35.17 crore orders on National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) platform as on date.

Additionally, a web-based initiative namely “Digital Courts” has been developed for making courts paperless. JustIS app developed for judges (22,133 downloads) assists in the monitoring of pendency and disposal of cases at fingertips. Further, the Free and Open-Source Software based Case Information System (CIS) Version 4.0 is in operation to digitally manage cases filed in courts.

(e): The Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for the Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary in the District and Subordinate Courts is regularly appraised/audited by Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee (DRPSC), internal audit reports and third party evaluation report carried out under the aegis of NITI Aayog at the time of extension of the Scheme.

The gaps in implementation of the Scheme, as and when highlighted through the recommendations of various reports are suitably considered while drafting the guidelines for the Scheme. Similarly, to mitigate fund related gaps like parking of funds by the States/UTs, new fund release system namely SNA-SPARSH has been introduced for ‘Just-in-time’ release of funds. For proper monitoring of projects under the Scheme, the States/UTs are also regularly asked to geo-tag the projects in real time and update the progress on the Nyaya Vikas Portal.

***** 2Annexure-I STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF THE RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2355 FOR ANSWER ON 12/03/2026 Rs. in Crore Sl. States F.Y 2021-22 F.Y 2022-23 F.Y 2023-24 F.Y 2024-25 F.Y 2025-26* No. Allocated Utilised Allocated Utilised Allocated Utilised Allocated Utilised Allocated Utilised Andhra 1 Pradesh 0.00 0.00 22.50 22.50 49.82 49.82 0.99 0.99 30.98 20.92 2 Bihar 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 67.45 67.45 107.81 107.81 75.28 63.82 3 Chhattisgarh 0.00 0.00 60.00 60.00 6.69 6.69 45.35 45.35 41.52 35.93 4 Goa 3.20 3.20 25.00 25.00 1.53 1.53 14.27 14.27 3.51 1.23 5 Gujarat 0.00 0.00 6.22 6.22 95.62 95.62 51.34 51.34 57.83 48.36 6 Haryana 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 20.10 20.10 0.00 0.00 36.48 17.75 Himachal 7 Pradesh 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 6.00 6.00 13.62 13.62 10.25 10.25 8 Jharkhand 6.00 6.00 16.51 16.51 40.81 40.81 14.57 14.57 22.54 17.52 9 Karnataka 27.00 27.00 82.01 82.01 133.16 133.16 73.92 73.92 34.14 31.11 10 Kerala 50.00 50.00 0.00 0.00 7.00 7.00 45.89 45.89 22.95 22.76 Madhya 11 Pradesh 55.00 55.00 125.00 125.00 104.00 104.00 42.69 42.69 70.91 61.79 12 Maharashtra 18.00 18.00 100.00 100.00 119.53 119.53 118.36 118.36 28.06 28.06 13 Odisha 0.00 0.00 31.49 31.49 30.88 30.88 51.48 51.48 30.57 30.25 14 Punjab 16.50 16.50 12.50 12.50 18.42 18.42 0.00 0.00 12.31 11.75 15 Rajasthan 41.50 41.50 71.66 71.66 80.41 80.41 58.35 58.35 70.24 60.66 16 Tamil Nadu 35.66 35.66 133.85 133.85 0.00 0.00 61.27 61.27 39.15 37.10 17 Telangana 0.00 0.00 26.61 26.61 0.00 0.00 1.96 1.96 9.95 9.20 18 Uttarakhand 80.00 80.00 0.00 0.00 13.75 13.75 46.14 46.14 4.18 3.38 19 UttarPradesh 219.00 219.00 0.00 0.00 102.96 102.96 174.12 174.12 36.05 35.42 20 West Bengal 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 18.00 18.00 22.22 22.22 26.10 18.56

551.86 551.86 713.35 713.35 916.13 916.13 944.34 944.34 663.00 565.82 Total (A) North Eastern States (B) Arunachal 1 Pradesh 4.09 4.09 32.38 32.38 0.00 0.00 6.24 6.24 1.33 1.33 2 Assam 27.40 27.40 25.00 25.00 40.00 40.00 40.75 40.75 33.59 20.68 3 Manipur 0.00 0.00 12.85 12.85 0.00 0.00 3.71 3.71 2.89 0.52 4 Meghalaya 28.02 28.02 50.00 50.00 33.72 33.72 35.79 35.79 5.40 5.40 5 Mizoram 9.50 9.50 0.00 0.00 8.85 8.85 13.57 13.57 11.22 11.22 6 Nagaland 13.27 13.27 0.00 0.00 4.39 4.39 4.00 4.00 1.00 0.00 7 Sikkim 0.00 0.00 2.27 2.27 2.70 2.70 0.00 0.00 3.42 3.24 8 Tripura 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 40.49 40.49 20.00 20.00 16.68 6.13

82.28 82.28 122.50 122.50 130.15 130.15 124.06 124.06 75.53 48.52 Total(B) Union Territories (C) 1 A&N Islands 0.46 0.46 0.00 0.00 0.49 0.49 0.075 0.075 0.00 0.00 2 Chandigarh 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 D & Nagar 3 Haveli 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4 Daman & Diu 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 5 Delhi 30.00 30.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 16.50 16.50 10.00 0.87 Jammu & 6 Kashmir 20.00 20.00 12.60 12.60 12.00 12.00 31.50 31.50 10.00 7.45 7 Ladakh 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.40 1.40 6.925 6.925 7.00 7.00 38 Lakshadweep 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 9 Puducherry 0.00 0.00 9.55 9.55 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 5.00 0.00

50.46 50.46 22.15 22.15 13.89 13.89 55.00 55.00 32.00 15.32 Total Grand Total 684.60 684.60 858.00 858.00 1,060.17 1,060.17 1,123.40 1,123.40 770.53 629.66 (A+B+C) *As on 28.02.2026 ****** 4