SC Directs High Courts to Frame Rules on Court Managers Within Three Months

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday directed all high courts across the country to frame or amend rules governing the functioning of court managers and submit them to their respective state governments for approval within three months.
The concept of appointing court managers, initially proposed by the Thirteenth Finance Commission (2010–2015), aims to assist judges in administrative duties and enhance judicial efficiency. These managers are to be appointed at both the high court and district court levels.
A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justices Augustine George Masih and K Vinod Chandran asked high courts to use the Assam Rules of 2018 as a model while drafting or amending their rules.
“We direct that all the high courts in the country shall frame or amend the rules providing for recruitment and conditions of service of court managers, by taking the Assam Rules of 2018 as the model rules, and submit it to the state government for approval within a period of three months from the date of this judgment,” the bench said.
The apex court further directed state governments to approve the submitted rules within an additional three months. It also granted liberty to both high courts and state governments to make suitable modifications to address their specific needs.
Clarifying service conditions, the court said the minimum rank for court managers should be that of a Class-II gazetted officer, ensuring appropriate pay, allowances, and other benefits.
Court managers appointed in high courts will work under the supervision of the registrar general or other registrars, while those in district courts will function under registrars or court superintendents.
The bench emphasized that duties assigned to court managers should not overlap with those of registrars at either the high court or district court level.
Court managers currently serving on a contractual, consolidated, or ad-hoc basis will continue in service and must be regularised upon passing a suitability test outlined in the proposed rules. These individuals will be eligible for regularisation from the date of their initial appointment.
The court mandated that the regularisation process be completed within three months from the date of approval of the rules by the respective states.
“We clarify that the respective registrar generals of the high courts and the chief secretaries of the state governments shall be personally responsible for adhering to the aforesaid timelines,” the bench noted.
The court referred to its earlier judgment from August 2018, which had underscored the need for robust infrastructure in subordinate courts and recognised the critical administrative role of court managers. The Second National Judicial Pay Commission (SNJPC), in its February 2022 report, also recommended the appointment of court managers to handle non-judicial functions, enabling judges to focus on core judicial work.
Despite these recommendations and directions, the bench observed that many high courts and state governments had either failed to frame rules or had not obtained state approval. Some high courts had not initiated the process at all, while others were still awaiting state clearance.
“We are at pains to say that even though the SNJPC in its report had recommended and this court in the judgment dated August 2, 2018, had specifically directed the rules to be framed for determining the service conditions, the duties, etc., of court managers, various high courts and various state governments have not yet complied with the said direction,” the court said.