The Department of Justice (DoJ) is an institution within the Ministry of Law & Justice, Government of India, responsible for the administrative aspects of the country's judicial system. It is one of the oldest departments of the Government of India, but its current form was carved out from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and placed under the Ministry of Law & Justice on January 1, 2010, to manage the increasing workload related to judicial reforms. Prior to this change, the Department of Justice was part of the MHA until December 31, 2009.
The DoJ's core mechanism is defined by the Allocation of Business (Rules), 1961, which assigns it functions like the appointment, resignation, and removal of the Chief Justice of India, Judges of the Supreme Court of India, and Chief Justices and Judges of the High Courts. It also handles their service matters, including salaries and pensions. The Department connects to broader concepts of judicial administration and access to justice by implementing schemes such as the E-court Project for computerization of courts and the establishment of Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) for cases like those under the POCSO Act. Furthermore, it manages matters related to the National Judicial Academy and the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA). The recent change in 2010 separated its administrative control from the Union Home Secretary and the MHA, placing it under a dedicated Secretary to the Government of India within the Ministry of Law & Justice.