Supreme Court Questions Central Secretariat Library Move

The Supreme Court asked the Centre where the 135-year-old library will go when Shastri Bhavan is demolished.

The Supreme Court has sought detailed information from the Centre about plans to relocate the 135-year-old Central Secretariat Library from Shastri Bhavan as part of the Central Vista redevelopment. The court’s intervention came after concerns were raised about whether sufficient space had been provided for the library in the redevelopment plans. The court has asked the government to explain where the collection would be housed and how its historical and functional value would be preserved.

The Central Secretariat Library is more than an ordinary government library. Its collection has accumulated over more than a century and includes material relevant to administration, law, policy and India’s institutional history. Relocating such a collection involves logistical challenges involving cataloguing, storage, preservation, digitisation and public access. The proposed demolition of Shastri Bhavan as part of Central Vista redevelopment has therefore raised questions about what happens to the library during the transition.

The Supreme Court’s involvement does not necessarily mean the redevelopment will be stopped. Instead, the court is seeking clarity about how the government plans to protect the library and its collection. The issue illustrates one of the recurring tensions surrounding large urban redevelopment projects: modern infrastructure often requires replacing older buildings, but institutions and archives housed inside those structures can have value that cannot simply be measured in terms of physical space. The case could therefore become an important example of how India balances redevelopment with institutional heritage.