NEW DELHI, October 5 — The Supreme Court of India has initiated a suo motu public interest proceeding to ensure the structural preservation and institutional continuity of the 135-year-old Central Secretariat Library (CSL), following reports that the repository was directed to vacate its Shastri Bhawan premises without finalized alternative accommodation under the ongoing Central Vista redevelopment plan.
A three-judge bench presided over by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant alongside Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana issued formal notices to the Union Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. The apex court sought comprehensive affidavits detailing preservation protocols, digitization safeguards, and permanent relocation blueprints for the library's irreplaceable repository comprising over 700,000 rare historical volumes, imperial gazettes, legislative assembly debates, and ancient manuscripts dating back to 1891.
The bench emphasized that while modern administrative infrastructural consolidation is legitimate, national intellectual patrimony and colonial-era public records cannot be exposed to environmental decay or unscientific displacement. The court ordered that no arbitrary shifting occur until a certified, climate-controlled temporary facility is prepared.
Supreme Court epistolary jurisdiction (suo motu cognizance under Article 32) and state obligations to safeguard cultural heritage under Article 49 of the Constitution are staple topics in UPSC and Judicial Services examination syllabi. Candidates should note that Article 49 in Part IV (Directive Principles of State Policy) obligates the State to protect monuments, places, and objects of national, historic, or artistic importance.