Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant speaking at the inauguration of the new ‘Tower of Justice’ in Gurugram on Sunday (July 12, 2026).
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant on Sunday (July 12, 2026) said judicial infrastructure was no longer a luxury but a “very big necessity”, and called for mandatory facilities for women advocates, including separate bar rooms and adjoining childcare facilities, in all new court complexes.
Speaking at the inauguration of the new Tower of Justice, a seven-acre judicial complex for the Gurugram District and Sessions Court near Rajiv Chowk, the Chief Justice said providing an atmosphere that instils confidence in socially and financially backward litigants was the duty of all three organs of the Constitution.
“Just as a patient reaching a hospital is given first-aid, a consumer of justice coming to court must be given first-aid in the form of basic amenities — seating, drinking water and washrooms,” Chief Justice Kant said. He noted that Gurugram’s transformation from an agricultural town to an industrial hub had led to a sharp rise in legal disputes of all kinds.
Flagging the lack of facilities for women lawyers, the CJI cited a recent Supreme Court Bar Association survey, which found that many judicial complexes across States lacked basic amenities for women members of the bar. “Women advocates are not being provided the facilities that should be given to them in many States. It is our all-out effort that wherever new judicial infrastructure is constructed, it should be mandatory to provide these facilities. It would not be right to call it a modern court complex without them,” he said.
Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant and other dignitaries at the event on Sunday (July 12, 2026).
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
He urged the Punjab and Haryana High Court to ensure a childcare room adjoining the women advocates’ room in the new Gurugram complex.
Chief Justice Kant recalled that he had performed the bhoomi puja for the complex in January 2017 in his capacity as the in-charge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Building Committee, calling the day as “historic” and “memorable”.
The new court complex has 55 modern courtrooms, compared to 45 in the old building. It also houses a bank, post office, bar library, mediation centre and other citizen-centric amenities.
The CJI said technology was key to expeditious disposal of cases and that its optimum use was possible only with proper infrastructure. He expressed hope that courtrooms and conference rooms in the new complex would make full use of technology.
Referring to integrated court complexes in some States that house sessions, family, labour and environment courts under one roof, Chief Justice Kant said it was a useful concept for both lawyers and litigants. He expressed confidence that the Punjab and Haryana High Court would initiate steps towards establishing such unified complexes in Haryana with State government support.
On the occasion, the CJI also laid the foundation stone for new court complexes at Punhana and Tauru subdivisions in Nuh district.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and Union Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal were also present.
Published – July 12, 2026 09:13 pm IST
