Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva will examine the legal status of the Central Secretariat Library (CSL) on Monday, October 5. The bench has taken suo moto note of the situation, registering a writ petition titled "In Re: 135-yr-old library, 8.5 lakh books-and no room in the Central Vista plan." The court’s intervention comes after the matter surfaced in the public domain, forcing a judicial look at the administrative handling of a heritage institution with a 135-year history.
The core of the dispute hinges on physical space. Since 1969, the CSL has operated from four floors of Shastri Bhawan, housing a collection of more than 8.5 lakh books. Recent media reports indicated that the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) had allotted only two rooms in the new Kartavya Bhawan-2 complex for the entire library. This drastic reduction in footprint threatened the viability of the institution under the Central Vista redevelopment plan.
MoHUA pushed back against the narrative that the library was left without a home. In a statement on X, the ministry asserted that space for the CSL has been provided for in the Kartavya Path redevelopment plan. "The necessary process for construction of the library is underway," the ministry stated, clarifying that earlier reports suggesting a lack of allocation were incorrect. The department insists that the relocation is part of a planned construction process, not an afterthought.
The Supreme Court’s suo moto registration signals that the judiciary will scrutinize whether the executive branch’s assurances hold up to legal standards. The court will likely seek detailed reports from the concerned ministries on the exact layout, construction timelines, and preservation protocols for the 8.5 lakh books. This is not merely a bureaucratic shuffling; it involves the preservation of India’s largest central government library.
The hearing on October 5 will determine the immediate next steps for the CSL’s physical infrastructure. Attorneys for various stakeholders are expected to appear, potentially challenging the adequacy of the proposed space or the speed of the construction process. Until the court delivers its observation, the library remains in a state of administrative limbo, caught between the demolition of Shastri Bhawan and the unfinished promise of Kartavya Bhawan-2.