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2025 Supreme(Online)(SC) 9897

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
J.B. PARDIWALA, K.V. VISWANATHAN, JJ
RAJEEB KALITA – Appellant
Versus
UNION OF INDIA & ORS. – Respondent
Miscellaneous Application No. 1188/2025 in W.P.(C) No. 538/2023

Advocates:
For the Appellants/Petitioners: By Courts Motion
For the Respondents: Ms. Ruchi Kohli, Adv., Mr. Aman Sharma, Adv., Ms. Ameyvikrama Thanvi, Adv., Ms. Chitrangda Rashtravara, Adv., Mr. P.v.yogeswaran, Adv., Mr. Arvind Kumar Sharma, AOR, Mr. Aaditya Aniruddha Pande, AOR, Mr. Siddharth Dharmadhikari, Adv., Mr. Shrirang B. Varma, Adv., Mr. Bharat Bagla, Adv., Mr. Sourav Singh, Adv., Mr. Aditya Krishna, Adv., Mr. Adarsh Dubey, Adv., Ms. Chitransha Singh Sikarwar, Adv., Mr. Anando Mukherjee, AOR, Mr. Shwetank Singh, Adv., Mr. Adarsh Upadhyay, AOR, Mr. Amit Singh, Adv., Mr. Shashank Pachauri, Adv., Mr. Ramesh Babu M. R., AOR, Mr. Yashvardhan, Adv., Mr. Apoorv Shukla, AOR, Ms. Prabhleen A. Shukla, Adv., Mr. Prashant Shrikant Kenjale, AOR, Mr. B Dhananjay, Adv., Mr. Kunal Chatterji, AOR, Ms. Maitrayee Banerjee, Adv., Mr. Rohit Bansal, Adv., Mr. Varij Nayan Mishra, Adv., Ms. Muskan Nagpal, Adv., Ms. Kshitij Vaibhav, Adv., Ms. Manisha Ambwani, AOR, Mr. P. I. Jose, AOR, Mr. James P. Thomas, Adv., Mr. Ashok Mathur, AOR, Mr. Manpreet Kaur, Adv., Mr. Subhash Chandra Sagar, Adv., Mr. Hemant Kumar Sagar, AOR, Mr. E. C. Vidya Sagar, AOR, Mr. P. S. Sudheer, AOR, Mr. Rishi Maheshwari, Adv., Ms. Anne Mathew, Adv., Mr. Bharat Sood, Adv., Mr. Jai Govind M J, Adv., Mr. Jashan Vir Singh, Adv., Mr. Abhishek Anand, Adv., Mr. Deepayan Mandal, AOR, Mr. Naman Varma, Adv., Mr. Mridul Bansal, Adv., Mr. Aryan Ahmed, Adv., Mr. Arjun Garg, AOR, Ms. Sagun Srivastava, Adv., Mr. Saaransh Shukla, Adv., Ms. Muskan Bensla, Adv., Mr. Sanjai Kumar Pathak, AOR, Mrs. Shashi Pathak, Adv., Mr. Arvind Kumar Tripathi, Adv., Ms. Smriti Singh, Adv., Mr. Ahanthem Henry, Adv., Mr. Ahanthem Rohen Singh, Adv., Mr. Mohan Singh, Adv., Mr. Aniket Rajput, Adv., Ms. Koisnam Nirmala Devi, Adv., Mr. Yeshu Mehta, Adv., Mr. Tanay Hegde, Adv., Mr. Kumar Mihir, AOR, Ms. Asmita Singh, AOR, Ms. Ankita Makan, Adv., Ms. Aakanksha Kaul, Adv., Ms. Garima Bajaj, AOR, Mr. Gopal Jha, AOR, Mr. Shreyash Bhardwaj, Adv., Mr. Umesh Kumar Yadav, Adv., Ms. Shrieesha Sharma, Adv., Mr. Sawan Datta, Adv., Mr. Nand Kishore Sharma, Adv., Mr. Ankit Agrawal, Adv., Ms. Enakshi Mukhopadhyay Siddhanta, AOR, Mr. Venkata Raghuvamsy D., AOR, Mr. Pai Amit, AOR, Ms. Radhika Gautam, AOR, Mr. Amit Sharma, AOR, Ms. Nidhi Mittal, AOR, Mr. Kunal Chatterji, AOR, Ms. Maitrayee Banerjee, Adv., Mr. Rohit Bansal, Adv., Mr. Varij Nayan Mishra, Adv.

Court mandated improved sanitation facilities across judicial premises, addressing systemic failures and ensuring accessibility for all users.

Headnote:In the context of a Public Interest Litigation regarding sanitation facilities in all Courts/Tribunals, the Supreme Court issued several key directives aimed at improving the accessibility and maintenance of toilet facilities. The Court emphasized the necessity for separate washrooms for different genders and PwD. It also required committees to be formed for oversight and implementation of these facilities, with direct accountability mechanisms. The Court noted systemic failures in compliance with previous judgments and ordered regular status reports from High Courts to monitor progress.

Table of Content
1. court's directives on sanitation facilities. (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5)
2. identified systemic failures in court sanitation. (Para 6 , 7 , 8 , 9)
3. future compliance monitoring structure. (Para 10 , 11)

Date : 17-10-2025 This petition was called on for hearing today.

CORAM :

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE J.B. PARDIWALA HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K.V. VISWANATHAN For Petitioner(s) : By Courts Motion For Respondent(s) :

Ms. Ruchi Kohli, Adv. Mr. Aman Sharma, Adv.

Ms. Ameyvikrama Thanvi, Adv.

Ms. Chitrangda Rashtravara, Adv.

Mr. P.v.yogeswaran, Adv.

Mr. Arvind Kumar Sharma, AOR Mr. Aaditya Aniruddha Pande, AOR Mr. Siddharth Dharmadhikari, Adv.

Mr. Shrirang B. Varma, Adv.

Mr. Bharat Bagla, Adv. Mr. Sourav Singh, Adv.

Mr. Aditya Krishna, Adv.

Mr. Adarsh Dubey, Adv.

Ms. Chitransha Singh Sikarwar, Adv.

Mr. Anando Mukherjee, AOR Mr. Shwetank Singh, Adv. Mr. Adarsh Upadhyay, AOR Signa ture No t Ve rifi ed Mr. Amit Singh, Adv.

Digita lly s ign ed b y Ms. Pallavi Kumari, Adv.

VISHAL ANAND Date: 2025.10.18

12:46: 23 IST Mr. Shashank Pachauri, Adv.

Reason:

Mr. Ramesh Babu M. R., AOR Mr. Yashvardhan, Adv.

Mr. Apoorv Shukla, AOR Ms. Prabhleen A. Shukla, Adv.

Mr. Prashant Shrikant Kenjale, AOR Mr. B Dhananjay, Adv.

Mr. Kunal Chatterji, AOR Ms. Maitrayee Banerjee, Adv.

Mr. Rohit Bansal, Adv.

Mr. Varij Nayan Mishra, Adv.

Mr. Amit Gupta, AOR Ms. Muskan Nagpal, Adv.

Ms. Kshitij Vaibhav, Adv.

Ms. Manisha Ambwani, AOR Mr. P. I. Jose, AOR Mr. James P. Thomas, Adv.

Mr. Ashok Mathur, AOR Mr. Manpreet Kaur, Adv.

Mr. Subhash Chandra Sagar, Adv.

Mr. Hemant Kumar Sagar, Adv.

Mr. E. C. Vidya Sagar, AOR Mr. P. S. Sudheer, AOR Mr. Rishi Maheshwari, Adv.

Ms. Anne Mathew, Adv. Mr. Bharat Sood, Adv.

Mr. Jai Govind M J, Adv.

Mr. Jashan Vir Singh, Adv.

Mr. Abhishek Anand, Adv. Mr. Deepayan Mandal, AOR Mr. Naman Varma, Adv.

Mr. Mridul Bansal, Adv.

Mr. Aryan Ahmed, Adv.

Mr. Arjun Garg, AOR Ms. Sagun Srivastava, Adv.

Mr. Saaransh Shukla, Adv.

Ms. Muskan Bensla, Adv.

Mr. Sanjai Kumar Pathak, AOR Mrs. Shashi Pathak, Adv.

Mr. Arvind Kumar Tripathi, Adv.

Ms. Smriti Singh, Adv.

Mr. Ahanthem Henry, Adv.

Mr. Ahanthem Rohen Singh, Adv.

Mr. Mohan Singh, Adv.

Mr. Aniket Rajput, Adv.

Ms. Koisnam Nirmala Devi, Adv.

Mr. Yeshu Mehta, Adv. Mr. Tanay Hegde, Adv.

Mr. Kumar Mihir, AOR Ms. Asmita Singh, AOR Ms. Ankita Makan, Adv.

Ms. Aakanksha Kaul, Adv.

Ms. Garima Bajaj, AOR Mr. Gopal Jha, AOR Mr. Shreyash Bhardwaj, Adv. Mr. Umesh Kumar Yadav, Adv.

Ms. Shrieesha Sharma, Adv.

Mr. Sawan Datta, Adv.

Mr. Nand Kishore Sharma, Adv.

Mr. Ankit Agrawal, Adv.

Ms. Enakshi Mukhopadhyay Siddhanta, AOR Mr. Venkata Raghuvamsy D., AOR Mr. Pai Amit, AOR Ms. Radhika Gautam, AOR Mr. Amit Sharma, AOR Ms. Nidhi Mittal, AOR Mr. Kunal Chatterji, AOR Ms. Maitrayee Banerjee, Adv.

Mr. Rohit Bansal, Adv.

Mr. Varij Nayan Mishra, Adv.

UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following

O R D E R

1. While deciding a Public Interest Litigation relating to providing toilet facilities in all Courts/Tribunals across the country, a slew of directions were issued by this Court in that regard.

2. For the sake of convenience, we reproduce the directions as under:-

“11. In view of the above, we hold and issued the following directions, in the larger public interest:

(i) The High Courts and the State Governments / UTs shall ensure the construction and availability of separate toilet facilities for males, females, PwD, and transgender persons in all Court premises and Tribunals across the Country.

(ii) The High Courts shall oversee and ensure that these facilities are clearly identifiable and accessible to Judges, advocates, litigants, and court staff.

(iii) For the aforesaid purpose, a committee shall be constituted in each of the High Courts under the chairmanship of a Judge nominated by the Chief Justice and members comprising the Registrar General/Registrar of the High Court, the Chief Secretary, the PWD Secretary and the Finance Secretary of the State, a representative of the Bar Association and any other officers as they deem it fit, within a period of six weeks.

(iv) The committee s

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2025 Supreme(Online)(SC) 9897

SUPREME COURT OF INDIAJ.B. PARDIWALA, K.V. VISWANATHAN, JJRAJEEB KALITA – AppellantVersusUNION OF INDIA & ORS. – RespondentMiscellaneous Application No. 1188/2025 in W.P.(C) No. 538/2023

Court mandated improved sanitation facilities across judicial premises, addressing systemic failures and ensuring accessibility for all users.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
J.B. PARDIWALA, K.V. VISWANATHAN, JJ
RAJEEB KALITA – Appellant
Versus
UNION OF INDIA & ORS. – Respondent
Miscellaneous Application No. 1188/2025 in W.P.(C) No. 538/2023