Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice Surya Kant has made a powerful appeal for the creation of a unified national judicial policy, aiming to bring greater coherence and predictability to court systems across the country. He highlighted a troubling disconnect between the constitutional ideal of justice and the everyday reality for many citizens.
A Constitutional Vision and a Stark Reality
Speaking at the Constitution Day celebrations organized by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) in New Delhi on Wednesday, November 27, 2025, the CJI underscored the foundational role of the Constitution. He described it as the "stabilising force" that has guided India's transformation since Independence, enabling "change without chaos and growth without drift."
However, Justice Kant pointed to a "disquieting gap" separating this grand constitutional vision from the actual experiences of countless individuals. He identified several key barriers that make the ideal of justice elusive for many, especially marginalized communities.
- Exorbitant costs of legal proceedings
- Language barriers
- Geographical distance from courts
- Significant delays in case resolution
"These barriers weaken the very overarching goal we seek to protect and, in doing so, magnify existing inequalities," the CJI stated emphatically.
The Proposed Solution: A National Judicial Policy
To address these systemic challenges, CJI Kant proposed a concrete solution: the development of a uniform national judicial policy. This framework is envisioned as an institutional mechanism to ensure that courts across different jurisdictions operate with clarity and consistency.
"One constructive way forward, in my opinion, can be the evolution of a uniform national judicial policy—an institutional framework that encourages coherence across jurisdictions so that our courts speak with clarity and consistency," he explained to the audience.
The CJI stressed that reinforcing predictability in the judicial approach is not just an administrative goal but a moral and constitutional imperative rooted in the promise of access to justice.
Access to Justice as a Foundational Right
Marking 76 years of the Indian Constitution, Justice Kant called for a renewed commitment to its core promise. He described access to justice as the bedrock upon which all other rights are built.
"If access to justice is our moral and constitutional North Star, then predictability, affordability, and timeliness form its core supports," he remarked. He further asserted that truly realizing this precept is an "act of constitutional fidelity," with the augmentation of judicial infrastructure being the crucial first step.
The CJI credited the Indian judiciary's enduring stability to its "unwavering dedication to reading the Constitution in harmony with evolving realities." The proposed national judicial policy is seen as the next logical step in this ongoing evolution, aiming to bridge the gap between constitutional promise and lived experience for every Indian.
