Fuel crisis moves Supreme Court to order austerity, Judges resolve to carpool

The Supreme Court of India embraced austerity measures by reducing physical hearings to three days a week and judges “unanimously” deciding to carpool.

A circular issued by the court on Friday (May 15, 2026) follows an official call by the Prime Minister and the government to take widespread fuel conservation measures amidst a burgeoning energy crisis in the backdrop of the U.S.-Iran conflict.

In a circular reminiscent of the days ahead of the pandemic when the court manoeuvred to function despite a global health crisis, the circular issued by Secretary-General Bharat Parashar said Mondays and Fridays, or for that matter, any days declared as ‘miscellaneous’, would have only hearings through video-conferencing.

Miscellaneous days — Mondays and Fridays — are the busiest in any given week in the court, with fresh cases, many of them of public interest, being heard. The circular effectively means that physical hearings would continue only during the regular hearing days, which are mostly Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. However, a recent trend has been spotted that miscellaneous cases are listed on Tuesdays too.

The circular has also been issued just days ahead of the court’s summer vacation in June. The court has replaced the term ‘summer vacation’ with ‘partial working days’, with more Benches hearing urgent matters like bail and habeas corpus cases. Recent times saw the Constitution Bench hearing cases during the summer break. The previous summer witnessed batches of three to even four Benches sitting through the vacation.

The combination of physical-virtual hearings, spurred by the austerity call, has come at a time when the court is reeling under a pendency which has crossed 93,000 and is threatening to cross the six-figure mark. It has also coincided with the Cabinet approval for more Judges in the court to tackle pendency. But administratively, more judges would mean more expenses, including fuel and staff, at a time of abstemiousness.

Meanwhile, the circular informed that the current Supreme Court judges have “unanimously resolved to encourage car-pooling arrangements amongst themselves”. The circular said the judges have taken the initiative to share rides to ensure optimum utilisation of fuel.

The Supreme Court has also cut staff presence by 50%, allowing them to work from home.

“Till further orders, up to 50% of staff in each branch/section of the Registry are permitted to work from home for up to two days per week, provided that the remaining staff remain available in the office to ensure uninterrupted functioning,” the circular said.