The Supreme Court on Monday sought a detailed affidavit from the Union government on the proposed relocation of Delhi’s 135-year-old Central Secretariat Library, directing authorities to show how its more than 8.5 lakh books, rare volumes and archival records will be housed during the Central Vista redevelopment project.
A Bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva asked the Centre to provide details of the space earmarked for the library, complete layout plans and an undertaking on the arrangements made for preserving its collection. The court also appointed senior advocate Haripriya Padmanabhan as amicus curiae to assist in the matter and listed the case for further hearing on November 16.
The library is currently housed in the Shastri Bhawan complex, where it occupies four floors. The report before the court said the facility was directed on September 17 to vacate the premises by September 30 in preparation for demolition and reconstruction work. The Central Public Works Department had asked the library and other offices in the complex to remove furniture and electronic equipment.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati told the Bench that approximately 5,200 sq. ft. across two floors was being planned for the relocated library, compared with its existing space of 4,144 sq. ft. She said the government had taken instructions on the concerns raised by the court and that a larger space was being planned.
The Bench nevertheless sought a formal affidavit and complete plans, including the area that would actually remain available for book storage after conference rooms and other facilities were accounted for. It questioned whether the proposed space would be sufficient for the entire collection, stressing that the usable storage area could be reduced substantially once other amenities were included.
The court also highlighted the condition of the library’s regional-language collection. More than two lakh books from this section have reportedly remained packed in boxes at an office complex in R.K. Puram for nearly 15 years, after being shifted there during construction related to the Delhi Metro. The Bench said the government needed to protect valuable books, paper records and archival material rather than treating the relocation only as a space-allocation exercise.
Established in 1891, the institution was originally known as the Imperial Secretariat Library and was located in Calcutta. After the decision to shift the capital of British India to Delhi in 1911, it moved to the Old Secretariat Building in Civil Lines, and was later housed in North Block before shifting to Shastri Bhawan in 1969. Its collection includes official records, gazetteers and rare volumes, and is used by government officials and students preparing for competitive examinations.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs said in an October 1 post on X that space for the Central Secretariat Library had been provided in the Kartavya Path redevelopment plan and that construction-related processes were underway. The Ministry did not specify the library’s location under the redevelopment plan. The Union government is now required to place the detailed space arrangements and layout plans on record within three weeks.
