E-courts
Prelims:
Polity, Science & Technology
Mains:
GS Paper II- E-Governance,
GS Paper III-Science and Technology
Current
relevance:
The
Government has accelerated the digital transformation of the judiciary
under the eCourts Phase III Project (2023–2027) to enable faster case
disposal.
Highlights:
1.
Adjudication and disposal of cases
remain the responsibility of the judiciary, the Government is facilitating
judicial efficiency by expanding digital infrastructure, promoting paperless
courts, and integrating advanced technologies.
2.
Phase I (2011–2015): Building the Digital
Foundation:
With an outlay of ₹935
crore, the project laid the foundation for the digital transformation of
the judiciary by computerising courts, strengthening digital
infrastructure, enhancing judicial capacity through training, and
enabling technology-driven services such as video conferencing.
3.
Phase II (2015–2023): Expanding Digital Judicial
Services:
With an outlay of ₹1,670 crore, the project significantly
expanded the digital judicial ecosystem by computerising courts, strengthening
digital connectivity, establishing the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG),
and introducing citizen-centric services such as e-Filing, e-Payments,
Virtual Courts, mobile applications, the multilingual e-Courts portal, and
e-Sewa Kendras. It also enhanced virtual hearings and online case
disposal through wider adoption of video conferencing and Virtual Courts.
4.
Phase III approved in
September 2023 with a financial outlay of ₹7,210 crore, It represents
the next stage in India's vision of a technology-driven, transparent, and
citizen-centric justice delivery system.
Initiatives
under e-Courts Phase III
1. Transition to digital and paperless courts
through large-scale digitization of judicial records.
2.
Large-scale
digitisation of court records, robust digital connectivity, online case filing
and payments, integrated case management systems, electronic transmission of
judicial documents.
3. Judicial
Digital Trustworthy Repository developed for secure digital
preservation of court records.
4. AI-based
Legal Research Analysis Assistant (LegRAA) developed to assist judges in
legal research and document analysis.
5. e-Sewa Kendras provide digital assistance to litigants and lawyers, while Virtual Courts facilitate the online adjudication of traffic challans, and secure court websites hosted on the S3WaaS platform enhance accessible and reliable digital judicial services.
Source: PIB- https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2289461®=48&lang=2