New Delhi, 14, November 2024: Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna has issued a revised roster for case allocations, marking an important change in how the Supreme Court will handle new filings. The updated roster, effective from November 11, assigns the responsibility of hearing letter petitions and public interest litigations (PILs) to the top three benches led by CJI Khanna, Justice B R Gavai, and Justice Surya Kant.
The Supreme Court registry notified the new roster under the CJI’s directive. According to the updated framework, fresh petitions, including those arising from citizen letters and new PILs, will be managed by these three senior judges.
This approach centralizes the handling of PILs to the highest-ranking benches, shifting away from the previous practice under former CJI U U Lalit, who allocated PILs across multiple benches.
CJI D Y Chandrachud later discontinued this method, choosing a more selective approach, which now continues under CJI Khanna.
The CJI-led bench will handle a broad range of issues, positioning itself as the primary forum for high-profile and socially significant cases. The responsibilities include matters related to social justice, habeas corpus petitions, and disputes involving the election of the President, Vice President, Members of Parliament (MPs), and Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs).
“The aim is to streamline the process and ensure critical issues receive focused judicial attention,” said an official from the Supreme Court.
Justice Surya Kant’s bench will also hear election-related disputes, complementing the CJI’s bench focus on politically sensitive matters.
This alignment of case types across the top benches reflects a strategic effort to handle significant legal and constitutional questions more effectively.
Also, the revised roster specifies case categories for 16 senior judges who will preside over various benches.
Justice JB Pardiwala, who previously shared the bench with former CJI Chandrachud, will now take charge of cases involving direct and indirect taxes, along with regular civil disputes.
The roster details include a comprehensive list of senior judges who will oversee various subject matters. Besides the CJI and the two senior-most judges, the lineup features Justices Hrishikesh Roy, AS Oka, Vikram Nath, JK Maheshwari, BV Nagarathna, CT Ravikumar, MM Sundresh, Bela M Trivedi, PS Narasimha, Sudhanshu Dhulia, Dipankar Datta, Pankaj Mithal, and JB Pardiwala. Each judge will manage cases according to their designated subject areas, ensuring a structured and methodical approach to case hearings.
For instance, Justice Vikram Nath’s bench will focus on matters related to criminal law, while Justice Nagarathna’s court will deal with issues concerning constitutional law. This subject-wise allocation aims to streamline the court’s operations, providing a more efficient distribution of workload among the senior judges.
