By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, AUG 08, 2024: AS part of the National eGovernance Plan, the eCourts Mission Mode Project is under implementation for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) development of the Indian Judiciary based on the "National Policy and Action Plan for Implementation of Information and Communication Technology in the Indian Judiciary". This project is being implemented by the Department of Justice, in close coordination with the eCommittee, Supreme Court of India.

The phase I of the eCourts Mission Mode Project was implemented during 2011-2015, which focused on the basics of computerisation like setting up computer hardware, ensuring internet connectivity, and operationalizing the e-Courts platform. Against the financial outlay of Rs.935 crore, a total expenditure of Rs.639.41 crore was incurred. The following initiatives were undertaken in this phase:

i. 14,249 District and Subordinate courts were computerized.

ii. LAN was installed at 13,683 courts, hardware provided in 13,436 courts and software was installed in 13,672 courts.

iii. Laptops were provided to 14,309 judicial officers and change management exercise completed in all High Courts.

iv. Over 14,000 Judicial Officers were trained in the use of UBUNTU-Linux Operating System.

v. More than 3900 court staff were trained in Case Information System (CIS) as System Administrators.

vi. Video Conferencing facility was operationalised between 493 court complexes & 347 corresponding jails.

3. The phase II of the eCourts Mission Mode Project was implemented during 2015-2023, which focused mainly on ICT enablement of District & Subordinate Courts and various citizen centric initiatives. Against the financial outlay of Rs.1670 crores, an amount of Rs. 1668.43 crore was spent. Till 2023, 18,735 courts have been computerised. The following initiatives have been undertaken to make justice accessible and available for all stakeholders through digitization of legal procedures, thereby enhancing efficiency and transparency in the legal system: -

i. Under the Wide Area Network (WAN) Project, connectivity has been provided to 99.4% (2977 out of earmarked 2992) of total Court Complexes across India with 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps bandwidth speed.

ii. National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) is a database of orders, judgments, and cases, created as an online platform under the eCourts Project. It provides information relating to judicial proceedings/decisions of all computerized district and subordinate courts of the country. Litigants can access case status information in respect of over 26.06 crore cases and more than 26.91 crore orders / judgments (as on 01.08.2024).

iii. Case Information Software (CIS) based on customized Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS) has been developed.  Currently CIS National Core Version 3.2 is being implemented in District Courts and the CIS National Core Version 1.0 is being implemented for the High Courts.

iv. 7 platforms have been created to provide real time information on case status, cause lists, judgements etc. to lawyers/Litigants through SMS Push and Pull (2,00,000 SMS sent daily), Email (2,50,000 sent daily), multilingual and tactile eCourts services Portal (35 lakh hits daily), JSC (Judicial Service centres) and Info Kiosks. In addition, Electronic Case Management Tools (ECMT) have been created with Mobile App for lawyers (total 2.47 crore downloads till30.06.2024) and JustIS app for judges (20,362 downloads till 30.06.2024).

v. India has emerged as a global leader in conducting court hearing through Video Conferencing. The District & Subordinate courts heard 2,35,64,731 cases while the High Courts heard 87,08,727 cases (totalling 3.22 crore) till 30.06.2024 using video conferencing system. The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India held 7,54,443 hearings through video conferencing till 04.06.2024.

vi. Live Streaming of court proceedings has been started in High Courts of Gujarat, Gauhati, Orissa, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Patna, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand & Constitutional Bench of Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, thus allowing media and other interested persons to join the proceedings.

vii. 28 Virtual Courts in 21 States/UTs have been operationalized to handle traffic challan cases. Over 5.26 crore cases have been handled by 28 virtual courts and in over 56 lakhs (56,51,204) cases, online fine of more than Rs. 579.40 crore has been realized till 30.06.2024.

viii. New e-filing system (version 3.0) has been rolled out for the electronic filing of legal papers with upgraded features.  Draft eFiling rules have been formulated and circulated to the High Courts for adoption. A total of 25 High Courts have adopted the model rules of e-Filing as on 30.06.2024.

ix. e-Filing of cases requires the option for electronic payment of fees which includes court fees, fines and penalties which are directly payable to the Consolidated Fund. A total of 22 High Courts have implemented e-payments in their respective jurisdictions. The Court Fees Act has been amended in respect of 24 High Courts till 30.06.2024.

x. To bridge the digital divide, 1072 eSewa Kendras have been rolled out with the intention of facilitating the lawyer or litigant who needs any kind of assistance ranging from information to facilitation and eFiling. It also assists the litigants in accessing online eCourts services and acts as a saviour for those who cannot afford the technology or are located in far-flung areas. It also aids to addresses the challenges caused by illiteracy among citizens at large and provides benefits in terms of saving time, avoidance of exertion, travelling long distances, and saving cost by offering facilities of e-filing of cases across the country, to conduct the hearing virtually, scanning, accessing e-Courts services etc.

xi. A new "Judgment Search" portal has been started with features such as search by Bench, Case Type, Case Number, Year, Petitioner/ Respondent Name, Judge Name, Act, Section, Decision: From Date, To Date and Full Text Search. This facility is being provided free of cost to all.

xii. To make effective use of database created through National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) and to make the information available to public, LED Display Message Sign Board System called "Justice Clock" have been installed. The purpose of Justice Clock is to bring awareness to the public about the Justice Sector. A total of 39 Justice Clocks in 25 High Courts have been installed. A Virtual Justice Clock is also hosted online.

The Union Cabinet on 13.09.2023 has approved Phase-III of eCourts Project, at an outlay of Rs.7,210 crore for a period of 4 years starting from 2023 onwards. The e-Courts Phase-III aims to usher in a regime of maximum ease of justice by moving towards digital, online and paperless courts through digitization of the entire court records including legacy records and by bringing in universalization of e-Filing/ e-Payments through saturation of all court complexes with e-SewaKendras. It will put in place intelligent smart systems enabling data-based decision making for judges and registries while scheduling or prioritizing cases. The main objective of the Phase-III is to create a unified technology platform for the judiciary, which will provide a seamless and paperless interface between the courts, the litigants and other stakeholders. The main features of the eCourts Phase-III includes Digitisation of the court records, both legacy records and pending cases; state of the art and latest Cloud based data repository for easy retrieval;  e-Sewa Kendras  planned to be established at all court complexes across India to provide easy access to the citizen who is not having the necessary know-how or computer equipments; Paperless Courts aiming to bring court proceedings under a digital format  leading to  transparency and accountability in the Indian Judiciary and speedy disposal of cases; Video conferencing facilities to be expanded to cover district hospitals, more courts and jails, police station, etc.; Live Streaming of court proceedings thereby allowing the stakeholder as well as students to see the live working of the Courts thereby encouraging transparency in the court system; Online Courts aimed at eliminating the presence of litigants or lawyers in the court, thus saving time and money; Online Dispute Resolution to work towards providing an alternative dispute resolution machinery; expansion of scope of Virtual Courts beyond adjudication of traffic challans. The project will help provide a smoother user experience by building a "smart" ecosystem. Registries will have less data entry and minimal file scrutiny facilitating better decision-making and policy planning. The eCourts Phase-III may prove to be a game changer in ensuring ease of justice by making the Court experience convenient, inexpensive and hassle free to all the citizens of the country.

Under eCourts Phase III, out of Rs. 825 crores allotted in FY 23-24, an expenditure of Rs 768.25 Cr (93.11%) has been made. During FY 2024-25, an allocation of Rs 1500 Cr. in the BE has been received and Rs 465.74crore has already been released.

(c): The State-wise details of operational eCourts across the country is at Annexure-I.

Annexure-I

Statement referred to in reply of Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2030 for 08/08/2024 regarding Computerization of courts. The State-wise details of operational eCourts in the country is as under:

This information was given by the MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS, ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.