Indian Judiciary witness silent digital revolution

Tribune News Service

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, December 19

In an otherwise grim situation caused by huge pendency of cases, unfilled judicial vacancies and poor infrastructure, the Indian Judiciary is witnessing a silent digital revolution. Courts are going paperless with judges, lawyers and litigants turning to wider use of Information and Communication Technology (ITC) and future technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance people’s access to justice.

Several initiatives

• Rs 7,000 cr allocated for Phase III of e-Courts project to digitise system
• In 2021, e-filing module 3.0 launched with upgraded features
• In November 2022, a web portal launched to file RTI pleas
• e-SCR project launched, establishing database of SC rulings
• Live transcriptions of Constitution Bench proceedings started this year to be published with the help of AI on experimental basis

“As of 31 July 2023, 18,36,627 cases have been e-filed of which 11,88,842 (65%) were e-filed in district courts and 48.6% of district court complexes have a functional e-filing facility. At least 3,240 court complexes and 1,272 jails have video conferencing facilities,” said a Supreme Court report on State of Judiciary in India.

“In Phase-I of the e-Courts project, the facility of video conferencing was made available in 493 court complexes and 347 jails. In Phase-II of the project, these figures rose to 3,240 court complexes and 1,272 jails,” it said.

During Covid-19 lockdown (March 2020 and October 2021), district courts heard around 1.01 crore cases, and high courts heard about 55 lakh cases using video conferencing. The Supreme Court held around 1.5 lakh hearings during this period (up to 29 October 2021) making it the world leader in this aspect, the report said.

According to e-Courts project data, 86.7% of the district courtrooms have a working LAN/internet connection, and 69% have efficient bandwidth. However, only 57.4% of courtrooms in the district judiciary have VC-enabled computers on the judge’s dais.

As per the e-Committee, Supreme Court, as of 22 November 2022, a total of 12,42,93,90,000 (12 billion) pages, primarily consisting of legacy records (disposed cases), require digital preservation. The financial outlay specified for the digitisation of case records in Phase-III of the e-Courts project is Rs. 2,038.4 crore (28.27 % of the total project outlay of 7,210 crore), it stated.

Spearheaded by the e-Committee of the Supreme Court, the three-phase e-Courts Integrated Mission Mode Project includes e-Court services, video conferencing, e-Filing, e-Payment, virtual court, National Service and Tracking of Electronic Processes (NSTEP), Fast and Secured Transmission of Electronic Records (FASTER), digitisation of case records and Interoperable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) which enables seamless transfer of data and information among different pillars of the criminal justice system, like courts, police, jails and forensic science laboratories on one platform.

Prepared by the Centre for Research & Planning of the Supreme Court, the report was released last month.

Noting that Covid-19 crisis made video conferencing a norm for court proceedings, the report said, “In the post-pandemic era, hybrid/virtual hearings must continue in full swing…”

The report recommended that a permanent IT Cadre in the district judiciary and regular training of judges, staff and lawyers to strengthen the technical workforce and for capacity building.

About The Author

Tribune News Service

The Tribune News Service brings you the latest news, analysis and insights from the region, India and around the world. Follow the Tribune News Service for a wide-ranging coverage of events as they unfold, with perspective and clarity.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.