Action taken by the Centre on ‘Judicial Processes and their Reforms’ report

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The report was submitted by the Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, and Law and Justice in August 2023.

Recommendations accepted by the Government
- Establishment of regional benches of Supreme Court (SC) at four or five locations.
  - Article 130 of Constitution provides that the SC will sit in Delhi or in such other places as the CJI may, with the approval of President appoint.
- SC Should issue directions to all High Courts (HCs) to publish their annual reports as courts are also public institutions.
  - At present, only SC and some of the HCs are publishing their annual reports.

Recommendations	Reasoning
Increase retirement age for judges	It needs to be increased to keep pace with advances in medical sciences and increased longevity. Currently, it is 65 for SC judges and 62 for HC judges.
Law for mandatory declaration of assets by the judges	As a general practice, all constitutional functionaries and government servants must file annual returns of their assets and liabilities.
Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) may factor in aspect of social diversity	To enhance the representation of women, minorities, etc. in the higher judiciary.
Staggered vacation by individual judges at different times of the year	Vacations in judiciary is a 'colonial legacy. Staggered vacation will facilitate reducing pendency of cases and mitigate the inconvenience faced by the litigants.