NEW DELHI — JULY 15, 2026
In a major structural reform aimed at tackling judicial backlog, the Supreme Court of India has officially notified a fresh roster of work, effective July 13, 2026. The new administrative framework operationalizes a strategic plan introduced by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant to establish four dedicated Division Benches tasked exclusively with hearing and disposing of the court's oldest pending civil and criminal cases.
According to the official notification, these special benches will function on non-miscellaneous days—specifically Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays—ensuring a steady, uninterrupted focus on clearing the institutional backlog that has accumulated over the years.
Division of Civil and Criminal Workloads
The administrative plan splits the four dedicated benches equally between civil and criminal jurisdictions to optimize disposal rates:
- Oldest Civil Matters: Two separate Division Benches, headed respectively by Justice P.K. Mishra and Justice S.V.N. Bhatti, have been mandated to exclusively deal with long-standing civil disputes.
- Oldest Criminal Matters: The remaining two Division Benches, led by Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, will focus entirely on clearing the oldest criminal cases currently clogging the docket.
Critical Categories Restricted to Senior Benches
The freshly notified roster also reinforces strict boundaries regarding sensitive legal subjects, ensuring they remain under the purview of the Supreme Court's most experienced jurists.
Public Interest Litigations (PILs) spanning all subject categories, alongside urgent constitutional liberties like Habeas Corpus and preventive detention matters, have been strictly allocated to only five benches. These comprise the bench of the Chief Justice of India and the four senior-most puisne judges: Justice Vikram Nath, Justice B.V. Nagarathna, Justice M.M. Sundresh, and Justice P.S. Narasimha.
Similarly, capital punishment cases—where a death sentence has been imposed by lower courts—will feature exclusively before the benches of the CJI, Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Nagarathna, and Justice Sundresh. The rosters of all other remaining Supreme Court judges explicitly exclude death penalty matters.
Special Powers and Subject Allocations
Fresh cases spanning eighteen distinct subject rosters will continue to be distributed standardly among the sitting judges, from the CJI down to the junior-most judges, including Justice Augustine George Masih.
CJI Surya Kant has retained absolute jurisdiction over highly specific constitutional matters. These include references under Article 143 of the Constitution (presidential advisory jurisdiction), matters concerning the appointment of constitutional functionaries, and references under Article 317(1) involving inquiries for the removal of chairpersons or members of statutory tribunals, commissions, or public authorities.
Furthermore, the foundational categories governing commercial arbitration fall squarely within the CJI's personal roster. Specific sub-coded arbitration disputes have been meticulously divided among a select panel of senior justices, including Justices B.V. Nagarathna, P.S. Narasimha, J.B. Pardiwala, Sanjay Kumar, Aravind Kumar, and K.V. Viswanathan.
Institutional Impact
Legal experts view this targeted approach as a decisive administrative pivot. By separating the processing of fresh litigation from the systematic review of legacy cases, the Supreme Court aims to balance the need for urgent interim relief with the long-delayed finality required in older legal disputes. The performance of these four specialized benches on non-miscellaneous days will be closely watched by the legal fraternity as a potential blueprint for state High Courts facing similar pendency crises.
Discription: NEW DELHI — The Supreme Court of India has issued a new work roster, operationalizing Chief Justice Surya Kant’s administrative plan to tackle pendency. The reform institutes four dedicated Division Benches to exclusively hear the court's oldest legacy matters on non-miscellaneous days (Tuesdays through Thursdays).
Justices P.K. Mishra and S.V.N. Bhatti will head the two benches dedicated to the oldest civil disputes, while Justices Manoj Misra and Ujjal Bhuyan will lead the two benches clearing oldest criminal cases. Meanwhile, sensitive categories—including Public Interest Litigations (PILs), Habeas Corpus, and capital punishment cases—remain restricted strictly to the court’s five senior-most benches. The CJI retains exclusive jurisdiction over arbitration and key constitutional references under Articles 143 and 317(1), balancing fresh litigation with vital legacy case clearance.