Meaningful access to justice requires timely decisions: CJI Surya Kant

New Delhi [India], August 3 : The Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant, on Monday said meaningful access to justice is not merely the ability to approach a court but the assurance that complex cases will be decided within a reasonable time by courts equipped with the expertise to handle them, as he inaugurated Special Exclusive Courts at the Rouse Avenue Court Complex in New Delhi.
The CJI said the Special Exclusive Courts, dedicated to trials under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), represent an important institutional reform aimed at strengthening the criminal justice system to meet evolving challenges.
Justice Kant said such prosecutions frequently involve investigations across multiple jurisdictions, voluminous documentary and electronic evidence, forensic material, issues concerning national security, organised crime or transnational drug trafficking, and multiple accused.
He said these complexities require sustained judicial attention and specialised expertise, which dedicated courts are designed to provide.
He said specialised courts would enable judges to develop subject-matter expertise, ensure uninterrupted hearings and improve case management, resulting in greater judicial efficiency and consistency while preserving fairness and due process.
The CJI said delays in deciding such cases prolong uncertainty for victims, leave undertrial prisoners awaiting decisions on their liberty, weaken evidence over time and diminish public confidence in the justice delivery system. He stressed that timely adjudication is an indispensable component of justice.
Justice Kant also described Delhi as a laboratory for judicial innovation, expressing hope that the experience gained through these Special Exclusive Courts would provide a model that could be replicated in other parts of the country.
He said the success of the Special Courts would depend on the coordinated efforts of judges, investigating agencies, prosecutors, lawyers and court staff, and expressed confidence that the initiative would help reduce pendency, ensure greater continuity in trials and deliver timely and just decisions.
The Special Exclusive Courts were inaugurated in the presence of Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, judges of the Delhi High Court, judicial officers and other dignitaries.