Chandigarh, July 19 -- Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant on Saturday said judicial infrastructure is not a luxury but a fundamental requirement for an efficient justice delivery system. Speaking after inaugurating the Rs.65 crore multi-level parking facility at the Chandigarh district courts complex in Sector 43, built over 4.5 acres with a capacity of 1,174 cars for advocates, litigants, judges, court staff, police personnel and the public, he said even basic facilities such as organised parking have a direct bearing on the functioning of courts. Calling on Punjab, Haryana and the Chandigarh administration to strengthen judicial infrastructure, the CJI said court complexes must be equipped with adequate courtrooms and essential amenities to support both legal professionals and litigants. Using apex court data as a benchmark, CJI Kant noted that annual filings in the Supreme Court (SC) surged from approximately 75,000 in 2024, with projections expected to cross 82,000-83,000 annually. While the Centre recently expanded the SC's sanctioned bench strength to cope with the influx, a corresponding structural response is urgently required within the lower and district judiciaries. Addressing the systemic bottlenecks that choke the lower courts, the CJI clarified that while increasing posts and expediting recruitments are necessary, doing so without expanding physical infrastructure is counterproductive. "We talk about appointing more judicial officers to tackle the backlog, but we do not have the judicial infrastructure to accommodate them," he said. "If there is no physical courtroom available, what is the point of appointing a judicial officer?" CJI Kant, who has previously practiced as an advocate in Chandigarh, observed that modern vehicular growth has completely outpaced the city's original layout. Due to this, court complexes have faced chronic congestion, turning daily parking into a major logistical hurdle. He argued that these daily environmental stressors directly hinder the delivery of justice by fracturing the concentration of legal professionals. "If a lawyer who has to argue a critical case or draft an urgent brief in the morning is entirely stressed out over where to park their car, their professional concentration is broken," he observed. CJI Kant concluded his address with a direct call to the Chandigarh administration and the state governments of Punjab and Haryana to re-evaluate the design and management of judicial spaces. He urged the administration to immediately address similar parking and chamber shortages at the Punjab and Haryana high court....