Court Design Handbook

Court Design Handbook for District Courts in India

The Design Handbook seeks to envision and implement a user-centric District Court Complex responsive to the needs of all diverse users, i.e., litigants, judges, lawyers, Court staff, witnesses, accused persons, police, public visitors and other stakeholders in the justice system. A principles-based framework is used to highlight associated guidelines and design considerations, for creating truly inclusive, accessible, efficient, comfortable, adaptable, and sustainable Courts where the experience of seeking and providing justice is significantly improved.

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Projects Authors And Acknowledgements

Shreya Tripathy is a Senior Resident Fellow at Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy working as part of the Justice, Access, and Lowering Delays in India (JALDI) Initiative. Priyamvadha Shivaji is a Research Fellow at Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy working as part of the Justice, Access, and Lowering Delays in India (JALDI) Initiative. Brinda Sastry is an architect, urban designer, and planner with experience in formulating policies, audit frameworks, and design guidelines, with a participatory approach, to ensure inclusive and equitable design of public places. Shreya Shetty is an architect and urban design consultant, Co-Founder of 369 Ochre Studio who assisted in drafting the Harmonised Guidelines & Standards for Universal Accessibility in India 2021, drafted by the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) & Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee released by Central Public Works Department, Government of India under Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Bhagyalaxmi Madapur , Co-Founder of 369 Ochre Studio in Bengaluru, India, is an architect and urbanist who worked as a contract consultant with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on the project "Sponge City: Towards Building Flood Resilient Kolkata," which involved creating educational materials-infographic handbooks, videos, and brochures aimed at strengthening the capacity of Kolkata Municipal Corporation for resilient urban services. Abubakar Shaikh is an architect and Art Lead at Autovrse. Gayatri Ganesh is an architect and Experience Designer at Autovrse. Milind D.P. is the Executive Vice President, Consultancy & Projects, BNA Technology Consulting Ltd. His division is focused on IT Infrastructure Design, Project Management and Monitoring of ICT Projects. Arun Kumar is an acoustic consultant at HMPL Consulting Pvt Ltd, Bangalore, with over 8 years of expertise in Architectural, Environmental, and Industrial Acoustics, dedicated to shaping sound environments for optimal experiences. Akshatha Hariharan is an architect exploring the realms of Visual & User experience design. Rama Raghavan is an Architectural writer and researcher based in Pune. As a pedagogue, she has curated courses in Accessibility and Universal Design. She has worked on several publications that intricately connect the built environment with socio-spatial dimensions. This report has been in the making for over two years and owes a great deal to the inputs provided by a multitude of people. The authors would like to thank the following: Deepika Kinhal (Team Lead, JALDI) for her guidance throughout the project and for reviewing the report. The authors are also grateful to Reshma Sekhar (Former Senior Resident Fellow, JALDI) for her contribution to the conceptualisation of the Handbook. Dr. Gaurav Raheja (Professor of Architecture, IIT Roorkee) and Dr. Rahela Korakhiwala (Author, From the Colonial to the Contemporary: Images, Iconography, Memories, and Performances of Law in India's High Courts) for their guidance in the conceptualisation stage. Justice Badar Durrez Ahmad (Former Chief Justice, Jammu & Kashmir High Court), Justice Ponugoti Naveen Rao (Former Acting Chief Justice, Telangana High Court) and Mr. Suresh Kogilgere (Former Registrar, Karnataka High Court) for their inputs for the project. Dr. Tanya Machado (Professor of Clinical Psychology (Rtd). Consultant Clinical Psychologist) and Dr. Ria Fernandez (Rehabilitation Specialist, Mazumdar Shaw Hospital) for their inputs on child-friendly design and providing trauma-informed design considerations for vulnerable witnesses. Akhilesh (Project Second Chance) for his inputs on safe, secure, and humane design considerations for accused persons. Nilesh Singit (independent accessibility expert) and Dr. Sanjay Jain (Professor at National Law School of India University, Bengaluru), members of the Supreme Court Committee on Accessibility, for their inputs on ensuring universal accessibility. Alok Prasanna Kumar (Co-founder and Team Lead, Vidhi Karnataka), and Vidhi Fellows Manmayi Sharma (Senior Resident Fellow, Disability Inclusion & Access), Yashaswini Basu (Outreach Lead, Nyaaya), Yogini Oke (Impact and Partnerships Fellow), Shireen Yachu (Communications Fellow, Impact Collective) and Somya Jain (Research Fellow, Disability Inclusion & Access) for their inputs on the project. Damini Ghosh (Team Lead, Disability, Inclusion & Access at Vidhi) and Prof. Sanjay Kanvinde (Senior Partner, Kanvinde Rai & Chowdhury) for peer-reviewing the Handbook and providing their invaluable feedback. Over the months of February and March 2024, four round-table consultations were held with experts from various fields, on the following themes covered in the Handbook: Institutional capacity building; Making District Courts safe, secure and comfortable; Incorporating Universal Design Principles; and Facilitating efficient and future-ready Court Complexes. The authors would like to thank the following participants for their inputs during the sessions: Justice (retd.) Ponugoti Naveen Rao (former acting Chief Justice at Telangana High Court), Prof. Jyoti Dogra (Professor at Indian Law Institute), Dr. Sheila Ramaswamy (Technical & Operational Lead at NIMHANS), Ms. Arushi Anthwal (Legal Counsel at Counsel to Secure Justice), Ms. Kushi Kushalappa (Director, Support & Rehabilitation at Enfold India), Ms. Shirisha Reddy (Program Manager at Nyaaya Kannada), Mr. Amar Jain (co-founder at Mission Accessibility), Ms. Anita Iyer Narayan (Managing Trustee, sponsor and volunteer at Ekansh Trust), Prof. Gaurav Raheja (Professor Incharge, Inclusion & Accessibility Services at IIT Roorkee), Ms. Nivedita Krishna (founder-director at PACTA), Ms. Pooja Sastry (PhD candidate in architectural history at University College, Dublin), Ms. Shruti Dixit (practising lawyer in Lucknow), Mr. Akshay Jain (Assistant Program Manager at National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People), Mr. Rahul Bajaj (co-founder at Mission Accessibility) and Mr. R. Sri Kumar (former Head of Police Force in Karnataka and former Chief Vigilance Commissioner). The Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy is an independent think-tank doing legal research to make better laws and improve governance for the public good. The JALDI Initiative is a multi-year initiative that aims to advocate for and implement evidence-based reforms to eliminate the existing backlog in Courts and ensure that cases are disposed within reasonable timelines. This report is under the aegis of JALDI Innovation Lab, a multi-disciplinary collaborative of experts to design solutions for the justice delivery systems in India. Errors, if any, rest with the authors. Contact us at jaldi@vidhilegalpolicy.in

Sub Project Title

Design Guide for User-Centric Court Complexes

design

law

Jaldi Lab Aspect Title

Design

Design

Design-thinking and architecture to transform how accessing justice looks and feels

Jaldi Lab Aspect Title

Law

Law

Rules and policies to guide implementation of reforms in a fair, just and transparent manner.

Introducing the Court Design Handbook

Introducing the Court Design Handbook

Court Design Handbook: Reimagining Courts that meet the needs of all users

Court Design Handbook: Reimagining Courts that meet the needs of all users

Designing Justice: Introducing JALDI's New Video Series

Designing Justice: Introducing JALDI's New Video Series

Designing Justice: Interview with Anchal Bhateja

Designing Justice: Interview with Anchal Bhateja

Introduction to the series

Introduction to the series

How can we improve e-Filing in courts?

How can we improve e-Filing in courts?

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e-Courts Phase III Vision Document.

Aashima Kakkar, 'How are Records maintained in High Courts? What is the procedure to destroy Court Records?' (LawInsider, 2 June 2021)

Records Management and Storage (The Courthouse: A Guide to Planning & Design)

Objectives

Provide adequate space for records

of all disposed cases, in accordance with the timelines for storage mentioned in the relevant Civil/Criminal Rules;

Ensure safety of the physical records being stored

by taking precautionary measures to mitigate damage due to factors such as fire, white ants, moisture, etc.;

Ensure

adequate light and ventilation

in the Record Room;

Ensure that the Record Room is secure

by providing a limited number of doors that can be manned for security reasons;

Ensure that the Record Room is

accessible for diverse user groups

Provide technologies for preserving old records

, such as document imaging facilities;

Ensure that all

records are digitised to limit the storage space necessary

, as under the directions of the eCommittee of the Supreme Court;

and

Design the Record Room keeping in mind the

need for future expansion of the space

Users

Registrar and other Administrative Officers

Staff at the Record Room

Advocates

Adjacencies

The Record Room must be in close proximity to the Copying and Dispatch Section (

Section 2.5.A

) to ensure ease of communication and movement of records.

To facilitate digitisation, the Record Room must also have easy access to the Digitisation Centre (

Section 2.5.C

). If the Digitisation Centre is not within the Court Complex, it must be ensured that the Record Room is in close proximity to one of the exits of the Court building so as to ensure easy movement of files in bulk.

Shelving: fixed lateral shelving, hanging open-box files, movable lateral shelving, vertical drawer filing, and mechanised filing;

Specialised filing equipment and supplies: card-filing equipment, top or open reference files, file folders and supports; and

Computer-product-filing equipment: for printouts, tapes, disks, platter, and microfilm-filing equipment.

Design Considerations

The design of the Record Room must ensure that there is adequate space between the aisles for diverse user groups, including Persons with Disabilities.

The space within the Record Room must be adequate for manoeuvring the trolleys used for bringing in files and other documents.

All physical records must be kept between stiff covers to prevent fraying and folding before transferring them to the Record Room. Exhibits which are required to be stored must be unfolded and placed in envelopes for secure storage.

A Compact Storage System must be used to store voluminous records, and to keep the records free from dust or pest problems. A clear digitised cataloguing system must be maintained for easy retrieval of records when needed.

Storage shelf heights/widths must be adjustable to have greater versatility in storage capabilities.

Adequate filing system facilities must be provided for the storage of records, including:

Office Space for Record Room Staff

The Record Room must have adequate segregated designated workspace for the Record Room staff.

The room must be well-ventilated and be equipped with adequate ergonomic seating, storage facilities, and provision of adequate technology including document imaging technology such as scanners, digital record keeping systems, etc.

A separate bench or desk must be provided to store the records as they are brought in by the Court Clerks and before they are categorised and properly stored.

A counter must be provided for the Record Room staff to receive and categorise the files that are being brought in by the Court Clerks.

Provision must also be made for storing personal belongings of the staff.

PART C - THE HANDBOOK

ORGANIZATION AND DESIGN OF SPACES OF THE COURT COMPLEX

2.5.

Administrative Wing

D. Offices for Management of Records

I. Pending Branch

Generally, each Courtroom has its own pending section or a pending section shared between two or more Courts, depending on the size and jurisdiction of the Court. Lawyers may approach the pending branch to ascertain the next date of hearing and other details of orders passed in pending cases. Therefore, the pending branch has certain public-facing functions.

The pending branch must have smart storage systems, and data entry operators for digitisation. The smart storage systems may be similar to the systems used in the Record Room. For further details, please refer to the following Section.

Adequate desks and workstations must be provided for the pending branch staff. Case display monitors must be provided.

II. Record Room

The Record Room in a District Court maintains the judicial records of disposed case files from the Court Complex. There are two types of case files being maintained by the Court, ie., Civil and Criminal case files. Depending on the size of the Court, the Record Rooms may be separate or combined. After a case has been disposed of, the disposed files are sent to the Record Room on consignment by the Court Clerks/Shirestedars.

Figure 53: Typical floor plan of a Record Room

Image 62: Examples of Compact Storage System at the Record Room in the Bhadrak District Court, Odisha

References

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