Chief Justice of India Surya Kant constituted four special benches to fast-track some of the Supreme Court’s oldest pending civil and criminal cases. “The judiciary’s foremost obligation is not merely to decide cases, but to decide them within a timeframe that preserves faith in the rule of law,” he said.
Chief Justice of Indian Surya Kant has formed four special benches to expedite some of the oldest civil and criminal matters still pending before the Supreme Court.
According to a report the measure comes with a new roster notification effective from July 13, 2026.
The initiative is intended to rebuild public confidence in the justice delivery system.
CJI Kant said,
“The judiciary’s foremost obligation is not merely to decide cases, but to decide them within a timeframe that preserves the faith of citizens in the rule of law,”
He also stressed the personal and human impact of protracted delays.
CJI Surya Kant said,
“Every old pending matter represents a litigant who has waited years, and sometimes decades, for closure. The age of a case cannot become the reason for its continued neglect,”
Under the arrangement, each of the four dedicated panels will work three days per week, devoting that time exclusively to these long-standing disputes. This setup is designed to keep them insulated from the routine burden of preliminary hearings.
Two division benches headed by Justices P. K. Mishra and S. V. N. Bhatti will handle the oldest civil matters on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (non-miscellaneous days). Similarly, two other division benches headed by Justices Manoj Misra and Ujjal Bhuyan will hear the oldest criminal cases on the same days.
The roster notification outlines the operational framework in the following terms,
“Two Division Benches, headed respectively by Hon’ble Mr Justice PK Mishra and Hon’ble Mr Justice SVN Bhatti, shall exclusively deal with the oldest Civil Matters on Non-Miscellaneous days…Two Division Benches, headed respectively by Hon’ble Mr Justice Manoj Misra and Hon’ble Mr Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, shall exclusively deal with the oldest Criminal Matters on Non-Miscellaneous days…”
osal as part of the Supreme Court’s first structured docket-management effort in recent years. Sources said each of the four panels will initially take up nearly 200 cases, bringing the total targeted caseload to about 800.
The move is being seen as one of Kant’s early major administrative reforms, reflecting his focus on tackling backlogs through systematic docket control, rather than relying on temporary clearance drives.
Kant said that addressing these longstanding disputes strengthens the credibility of the courts. He added that bringing such cases to a close fulfills the constitutional assurance that “time will not deny justice.”