E-COURT PROJECT - GOVERNANCE
News: Budget
2023 | ₹7,000 crore for next phase of e-Court project will improve justice
delivery system: Rijiju
What's in the news?
● Finance
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman allocated ₹7,000 crore for the launch of Phase III
of the e-Courts Project that seeks efficient administration of justice.
E-Court Project:
● The
e-Courts Mission Mode Project, is a
Pan-India Project, monitored and funded by the Department of Justice,
Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India for the District Courts across
the country.
Administrative Control: Ministry of Law and
Justice.
Objectives:
The
project envisages
● To
provide efficient & time-bound
citizen-centric services delivery as detailed in e-Court Project Litigant's
Charter.
● To
develop, install & implement decision support systems in courts.
● To
automate the processes to provide transparency
in the accessibility of information to its stakeholders.
● To
enhance judicial productivity, both
qualitatively & quantitatively, to make the justice delivery system
affordable, accessible, cost-effective, predictable, reliable and transparent.
Phases of e-Court Project:
● Phases I and II
had dealt with the digitization of the judiciary such as
○ e-filing,
tracking cases online
○ uploading
judgments online.
● Phase III
of the e-Courts project aims for
○ Digitization
of court processes
○ Upgrade
the electronic infrastructure of the judiciary.
○ Enable
access to lawyers and litigants.
○ Seamless
exchange of information between various branches of the State. Such as between
the judiciary, the police and the prison systems through the Interoperable
Criminal Justice System (ICJS).
Features:
The
project envisages various path breaking initiatives like
● Digital & Paperless
Courts that aim to bring court proceedings under
a digital format in a court, thereby, limiting the use of paper and speeding up
the disposal of cases.
● Online Court
that focus on eliminating the presence of litigants or lawyers in the court.
● Expansion
of scope of Virtual Courts beyond
adjudication of Traffic Violations.
● Use of Artificial
Intelligence and Machine Learning would allow for
data analysis to work towards reduction in pendency and understanding
litigation patterns and forecasting future needs.
● An
Online Dispute Resolution platform will encourage alternate dispute resolution
and a robust video conferencing system.
e-Committee of the Supreme Court of India:
● The
e-Committee is the governing body charged with overseeing the ‘e-Courts Project’ conceptualized under
the “National Policy and Action Plan for Implementation of Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) in the Indian Judiciary-2005”.
● Former
Chief Justice of India, Justice R.C.
Lahoti proposed the constitution of the e-Committee.
Aim:
● To
prepare Indian judiciary for the digital age and to make the justice delivery system more efficient
and thus benefitting its various stakeholders.
Chairperson:
● The
Chief Justice of India (CJI) is the
patron-in-chief and chairperson of the e-committee.
Objectives:
The
e-Committee is guided by these objectives:
● Interlinking of all
courts across the country.
● ICT
enablement of the Indian judicial system.
● Enabling
courts to enhance judicial productivity, both qualitatively and quantitatively.
● To
make the justice delivery system accessible, cost-effective, transparent and
accountable.
Important Initiatives by the e-committee:
1. E-Courts services mobile application:
● Case
status, cause lists, Court orders can be accessed through this mobile app,
making these services available 24X7.
2. Virtual courts:
● It
is a concept, aimed at eliminating the presence of litigants or lawyers in the
court and for adjudication of cases on a virtual platform.
3. National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG):
● The
portal is a national repository of data relating to cases pending and disposed
of in all high courts, district and taluka courts of the country.
4. E-Sewa Kendras:
● They
enable litigants to obtain information with respect to case status and to
obtain copies of judgments and orders. These centers also extend assistance in
e-filing of cases.