Courts to deliver e-summons as SC launches new digital apps
Satya Prakash
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 14
Delivery of summons to parties to a litigation have been a perennial problem for courts in India which face a daunting task of clearing a backlog of around three crore cases at various levels across the country.
But now summonses can be electronically delivered to litigants in the form of e-summons as the Supreme Court on Tuesday launched new Apps, enabling courts to use information technology in a big way in justice delivery.
“Twenty-five to 30 per cent cases in lower judiciary are pending because summonses do not get delivered to parties. Now, a process server would be provided with a smart phone that would end the practice of incorrect reports that they give to courts about non-delivery of summons,” said Justice Madan B Lokur, who is spearheading the project for use of IT in judiciary.
At a function to launch the new apps, Justice Lokur said it had been mandatory for them to come back either with an electronically-signed receipt or a photograph of the locked premise. Now, the GPS tracking system would ensure they went to the right place for delivery, he added.
He said Nstep – a real-time tracking of process server – would speed up disposal of cases in the trial courts pending for non-delivery of summonses.
The function was attended by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Attorney General KK Venugopal and several judges of the Supreme Court.
Now lawyers can digitally pay court fees and fines for cases pending in the subordinate courts instead of being in queues at the court fee counters for hours.
Designed by Supreme Court’s e- committee and Department of Justice, these Apps are an extension of the e-courts programme started more than 12 years ago to digitise judicial proceedings.
He said e-filing will make online filing of cases in trial courts possible, a welcome departure from the cumbersome procedure of physically doing so.
He said e-filing will be possible for all the trial courts that are live on the National Judicial Data Grid — which provides for real-time updates on the status of cases in district courts. High Courts which were on the grid can also extend the e-filing facility to litigants, he added.
Notwithstanding an announcement made by the then Chief Justice of India JS Khehar last year, the Supreme Court has only gone partially paperless. Judges can be seen using paper files to handle cases on a daily basis.
