Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said he will soon form multiple seven-judge benches to take up long-pending constitutional references. This step aims to fast-track hearings and reduce the Supreme Court of India backlog of major unresolved issues currently pending.
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant announced that, as part of a major effort to clear a backlog of significant constitutional issues, he will soon constitute multiple seven-judge benches to address long-pending references before the Supreme Court.
The announcement reflects a renewed push by the top court to tackle high-stakes legal questions that have remained unresolved for years.
The Chief Justice shared this development while presiding over a scheduled hearing, which he then adjourned.
Explaining the scale of the administrative and judicial work involved, he said his immediate focus would shift toward setting up these larger panels.
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The CJI remarked during the proceedings,
“I am going to set up seven-judge benches soon, and hence, I may not get the time to hear the present matter,”
The decision to form these new seven-judge benches comes after an active period of hearings at the high-court level.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court concluded arguments in two major matters previously assigned to nine-judge benches.
These were the review of the legal definition of industry, intended to bring clarity to labor and commercial activities, and the Sabarimala reference, a landmark constitutional issue that concluded its hearings just last week.
With these major nine-judge proceedings now completed, the establishment of the upcoming seven-judge benches represents the next stage in the Supreme Court’s structured approach to resolving some of its most complex multi-judge references.
Although no dates or specific case lists for the seven-judge benches have been announced yet, the CJI’s remarks suggest the process is underway quickly.