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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NCMS (2012)

National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India

(2014) 5 SCC 438.

NCMS (2012).

Central Prisoner Holding and Transport

(The Courthouse: A Guide to Planning & Design)

Punjab & Haryana High Court Rules, chapter 27, s xvi(iii).

Single Lock-up:

Separate lock-ups for individual undertrials charged with serious offences, ensuring greater security and segregation; and

Group Lock-up:

Separate lock-ups segregated by gender and age (with a segregated lock-up for juveniles), including persons belonging to the third gender.

Objectives

Ensure that the lock-ups are

secure temporary detention/holding facilities

within the Court building, away from the areas frequented by other users

Plan the location of lock-ups such that they are in

proximity to the Courtrooms

, to minimise delays during the scheduled appearances of the Accused in the Court; and

Ensure that the

lock-ups are humane spaces

, and consider the needs of diverse Accused Persons.

Users

Accused Persons/Undertrials

Advocates

Police Investigators (PI)

Security Staff

Adjacencies

The lock-up facilities must be directly accessible through a segregated path from the designated parking space for prison vans used to transport the Accused. For further details regarding segregated pathways for the Accused, please refer to

Section 1.2.

The lock-up facilities must have direct access, or be in close proximity to secure corridors, elevators and stairs leading directly to the Accused waiting areas and the Courtrooms. This would reduce unauthorised interaction with the general public as well as the witnesses, while maintaining the safety and constitutional rights of the Accused.

The lock-ups must have separate guarded entry/exit points through which the undertrials may be escorted to the relevant waiting areas and the Courtroom.

The lock-ups must be located adjacent to the Visiting Room for the Accused and the Police Inspectors’ Room, to enable the Accused to meet and communicate with their lawyers or family/friends in a secure manner.

Design Considerations

The design of the lock-ups, corridors leading up to the lock-ups, and related functions must take into consideration the safety of all users of the space.

Wherever possible, depending on the size of the District Court, a separate lock-up building or a wing may be provided within the Court Complex. This must be immediately adjacent to a separate entry to the building, with adequate enclosure for jail vans and police vehicles.

Alternatively, the lock-up facilities may be provided on the ground floor or basement of the building.

Designated parking spaces must be provided for the vehicles escorting the Accused Persons. For further details of the parking area, please refer to

Section 1.3.E.

All corridors must be wide enough to prohibit Accused Persons from grabbing officers or other Accused persons as well to ensure that the space is not claustrophobic and allows adequate two-way passage.

Provision must be made for accessible, clean, and well-maintained sanitary provisions within the lock-ups.

The lock-up doors must have a wide grill opening to ensure that food and water may be passed inside in a sanitary and orderly manner.

Secure drinking water facilities must be provided within the lock-ups.

Lock-ups must be equipped with CCTV cameras (both PTZ and Fixed cameras) for surveillance systems with unobstructed direct visibility, and concealed light fixtures preventing misuse. For further details, please refer to

Annexure 3.

The corridors leading up to the lock-ups must be monitored 24/7 with CCTV cameras and trigger alarms, especially for loitering/unattended baggage.

The design of the lock-up must be in such a manner that security personnel are able to view the entire perimeter of all the cells.

Adequate seating must be provided for accompanying security staff.

Lock-up Cells

Each lock-up must be built to accommodate not more than 15 to 20 prisoners at a time.

Adequate, separate lock-up facilities must be made available for segregation by age and gender.

Juveniles must not be held in close proximity to adults. If, in some circumstances, juveniles are required to be in close contact with adults, additional sight and sound separation must be ensured.

Separate single lock-ups must be provided for individuals charged with serious offences, including individuals with criminal histories.

A Lock-up may not be less than

648 cubic feet

of air space and

36 feet

of floor area per prisoner. Lateral ventilation of the cell, exclusive of the iron bars and door jambs, must not be less than

10 square feet

The lock-up facilities must be reinforced with a solid ceiling in the cells to ensure enhanced security.

The cell must be well-ventilated and equipped with a sufficient number of vandal-resistant, fixed furniture to ensure adequate seating space for the undertrials, as well as concealed lighting fixtures.

All lock-ups must be built to ensure accessible turning space, with doors, grab bars, accessible drinking water facilities, and other appropriate facilities.

All spaces within the cell must be periodically cleaned and well-maintained.

Washrooms within the Lock-up

Every cell must have its own closed, functional, hygienic washroom facilities with covered drains and built-in toilet cubicles, to ensure privacy and hygiene.

The washrooms must be accessible to diverse user groups and have provision for adequate running water. For further details of accessible washrooms, please refer to

Section 3.1.A.

Office Space for Accompanying Police Inspectors

Adequate office space must be provided outside the lock-ups for accompanying police inspectors, as well as security staff charged with manning the lock-ups.

The office space must have sufficient storage facilities and ergonomic furniture.

It must also have access to dedicated sanitary provisions and drinking water facilities.

Other facilities

Private and soundproof interview booths with security glazing must be provided in close proximity to the lock-up facilities, to facilitate confidential conversations of the Accused with their Advocates and family members/friends.

Provisions must be made for the Advocates and family members/friends to be able to enter the interview booths from the public area without entering the secured area. For further details on the design of the Visiting Room, please refer to

Section 2.7.B.

PART C - THE HANDBOOK

ORGANIZATION AND DESIGN OF SPACESS OF THE COURT COMPLEX

2.7.

Facilities for Accused Persons

A. Lock-ups

The lock-up facilities in District Courts serve as secure holding areas, separate from public spaces, designed to temporarily detain or hold Accused individuals before and after their Court appearances. These spaces must be designed with a focus on security, efficiency, separation from other Court users and the public, and adherence to constitutional rights.

All District Courts must have an adequate number of lock-up facilities to accommodate the Accused and undertrial prisoners visiting the Court. The lock-up facilities must be segregated by gender, age of the Accused, and severity of the crime, and must be designed to be humane and accommodating of all users.

Two types of lock-ups must be provided:

Figure 56: Typical floor plan for a lock-up

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