16 May 2025 Civil Appeals >> Civil & Consumer Law  

The Indian judiciary, in its continuous endeavor for efficiency and streamlined administration, introduced the concept of "Court Managers." This specialized role, first proposed by the Thirteenth Finance Commission (2010-2015), aims to provide crucial administrative support to judges, thereby allowing them to dedicate more time to their core judicial functions and enhance case disposal rates.

Genesis and Purpose: 

The Thirteenth Finance Commission recommended the creation of Court Manager positions across judicial districts and High Courts, including benches. An estimated outlay of Rs. 300 crore was allocated for the period 2010-2015 to facilitate these appointments, with funds distributed to states based on the number of judicial districts. The initiative was further solidified by a letter from the Finance Ministry in September 2010, which included guidelines for the utilization of grants for improving justice delivery. These guidelines reiterated the allocation and specified the number of posts to be created at various judicial levels.

Functions and Qualifications: 

Court Managers are envisioned as professionally qualified individuals, ideally with MBA degrees, tasked with a wide array of responsibilities beyond purely legal functions. Their roles encompass:

• Policies and Standards: Establishing and evaluating compliance with performance standards for court timeliness, efficiency, quality, infrastructure, human resources, and access to justice.
• Planning: Preparing and annually updating five-year Court Development Plans (CDPs) in consultation with stakeholders.
• Information and Statistics: Ensuring accurate and prompt compilation and reporting of court functioning statistics.
• Court and Case Management: Guaranteeing compliance with established policies and standards to safeguard quality, efficiency, timeliness, and minimize costs for litigants and the State.
• Responsiveness Management: Ensuring adherence to standards related to access to justice, legal aid, and user-friendliness.
• Quality Management: Upholding quality of adjudication standards.
• Human Resource Management: Ensuring compliance with HR standards for ministerial staff.
• Core Systems and IT Systems Management: Establishing and effectively functioning documentation, utilities, infrastructure, facilities, financial, and IT systems.
• National Arrears Grid: Contributing data to the proposed National Arrears Grid to monitor case disposal.

The minimum qualifications suggested for Court Managers include a degree or advanced diploma in general management, coupled with at least five years of experience/training in systems and process management, IT systems management, HR management, and financial systems management. Excellent people, communication, and computer application skills are also deemed essential.

Challenges and the Push for Regularization: 

Despite the clear recommendations and allocated funds, many Court Managers were appointed on a contractual basis, leading to varied pay scales and a lack of allowances or benefits. This contractual nature and the underutilization of their services have been significant concerns.

The Supreme Court, in its judgment on August 2, 2018, in All India Judges’ Association and Others v. Union of India and Others, emphasized the need for sound infrastructure in subordinate courts and acknowledged the crucial role of Court Managers. A key directive from this judgment was the regularization of Court Managers already working, recognizing their assistance as vital for a proper administrative setup in courts.

Subsequently, the Second National Judicial Pay Commission (SNJPC) further reviewed the pay scales, emoluments, and service conditions of judicial officers, including Court Managers. The SNJPC noted the vacancies and underutilization of Court Managers and highlighted the Supreme Court's directive for their regularization.

The ongoing efforts and judicial directives underscore the judiciary's commitment to formalizing the role of Court Managers, ensuring uniform service conditions, and fully leveraging their professional expertise to enhance the efficiency and quality of court management across India.