Expressing “serious concern” over inordinate delay in justice delivery, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday pitched for bifurcating the Supreme Court to handle constitutional matters and appeals and also called for creating four regional benches of the top court for speedy disposal of cases.
Endorsing the recommendation of the Law Commission on splitting the Supreme Court into constitutional division and courts of appeal, he underlined the need to set up four regional benches of the apex court.
Naidu said the move would not require an amendment to the Constitution and referred to Article 130 to drive home his point.
“The Supreme Court shall sit in Delhi or in such other place or places, as the Chief Justice of India may, with the approval of the President, from time to time appoint,” it reads.The Vice President also referred to a recommendation of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice on having regional benches of the Supreme Court on trial basis, a statement issued by his secretariat said.
He was addressing a gathering on the release of a book on the writings of eminent jurist late PP Rao here.The full bench of the Supreme Court has on multiple occasions maintained that there is no need for its benches outside Delhi. The full court of the Supreme Court has already rejected the Commission’s August 2009 suggestion that the apex court be split into a constitution bench in Delhi and cassation benches in Delhi (north), Chennai/Hyderabad (south), Kolkata (east) and Mumbai (west) to deal with all appellate work arising out of the orders/judgments of the high courts.
Supreme Court judge Rohinton F Nariman, Attorney General K K Venugopal and several former judges were present at the launch.