On Monday, October 5, the Supreme Court will sit on a suo‑motocase titled ‘In Re: 135‑yr‑old Library, 8.5 lakh Books‑and‑no‑room in the Central Vista Plan,’ with Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva presiding.
The Central Secretariat Library, established in 1881, has occupied Shastri Bhawan’s four floors since 1969, amassing a collection of more than 850,000 volumes that serve civil servants, researchers and history enthusiasts.
Earlier this week, media outlets reported that the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs had allocated only two rooms in the Kartavya Bhawan‑2 complex, sparking fears the library might face displacement amid the Central Vista redevelopment.
The ministry, however, posted on X that sufficient space has been earmarked in the Kartavya Path redevelopment plan and that construction work is underway, countering the rumors.
The case was registered on October 3 as a fresh Suo‑Moto Writ Petition (Civil) No… by the Office of the Public Prosecutor, prompting the court to seek clarity on the library’s future.
If the bench rules that the plan is deficient, the government may be compelled to redesign the library’s footprint or relocate it to a new site; a decision is expected following the hearing.