Rs 1,500 cr for e-courts, Rs 123 cr for SC building

The phase three of the e-Courts project, aimed at setting up digital, online and paperless courts at the subordinate level across India, has been allocated Rs 1,500 crore in the Budget under the National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms.

The main objective of the third phase is to create a unified technology platform for the judiciary that will provide a seamless and paperless interface between the courts, litigants and other stakeholders.

The Budget also allocated Rs 123.75 crore in the 2025-26 financial year for expansion of the Supreme Court’s building, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in her Budget speech on Saturday. In the 2024-25 fiscal, the Budget had earmarked Rs 46.63 crore for the expansion project.

As part of the National e-Governance Plan, the e-Courts project has been under implementation since 2007 for ICT enablement of the Indian judiciary. The second phase of the project concluded in 2023.

The third phase of the e-Courts project, which began in 2023, aimed to establish a regime of maximum ease of justice by moving towards digital, online and paperless courts through digitisation of the entire court records, including legacy records. It is expected to put in place intelligent smart systems, enabling data-based decision-making for judges and registries while scheduling or prioritising cases.

Citizens without access to technology can access the judicial services from e-Sewa kendras, bridging the digital divide, the government said.

Digitisation of court records also enables processes to become more environment-friendly by minimising paper-based filings and reducing the physical movement of documents. Besides, virtual participation in the court proceedings can reduce the costs associated with these proceedings, such as travel expenses for witnesses, judges and other stakeholders, while court fees, fines and penalties can be paid from anywhere, anytime.