e-Courts Project to complete in 3-4 yrs: SC Judge

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 2

In a respite to litigants and court officials, all courts across India will be fully computerised in three to four years even as connectivity and maintenance continue to be issues.

Speaking to Chandigarh Tribune here today, Justice Madan B Lokur of the Supreme Court of India said, “Ninety-eight per cent of the courts have been covered in the first phase while the remaining courts will be computerised in the next three to four years.”

“The courts in Chandigarh, including the Punjab and Haryana High Court, have done a very good work in this regard,” he added.

With digitisation of courts, e-filing of petitions, e-payment and online orders would be made possible. It will save time and money of litigants besides reducing the workload of court officials, who have to take care of a large number of files and reports of court proceedings.

Justice Lokur, in-charge, e-Committee, Supreme Court of India, said however, connectivity and maintenance were the hindrances in the success of the project. “Connectivity is an issue. Also, we need more cooperation from states with regard to maintenance and upgrading of hardware,” the Justice added.

The computerisation would include digitisation of records and providing district judges with court docket management mechanism, which maximises the services of judicial officers by distributing equal work among the staff members. Under the system, the Judge can find out from the court website the quantum of work with each judicial officer.

The scheme also includes providing video-conferencing system between district courts and jails to enable courts to decide cases expeditiously without adjourning hearings due to the absence of undertrial prisoners.