Lok Sabha Question No. 644 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-02-06
Subject: E-Network for Courts
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: RAHUL KASWAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE (DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE)

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 644 TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 6 th  FEBRUARY, 2019

## E-Network for Courts

## 644. SHRI  RAHUL KASWAN:

## Will the MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to provide online facility to people by connecting all the courts with e-network in the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the  action  taken  by  the  Government  in  this  regard  so  far, and
- (d) the time by which online facilities are likely to be provided to the people by connecting all the courts with e-network in the country?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR LAW & JUSTICE AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS (SHRI P. P. CHAUDHARY)

(a)  to  (d):  Yes,  Madam.  The  Government  is  implementing  the  e-Courts Mission  Mode  Project  with  the  aim  of  computerisation  and  connecting district  and  subordinate  courts  across  the  country,  in  association  with  the eCommittee of Hon'ble Supreme Court of India. The steps being taken by the  Government  to  promote  the  use  of  technology  and  e-network  in  the working of the district and subordinate courts are as under:

- (i) Establishment of Wide Area Network (WAN) connecting all District and  Subordinate  court  complexes,  spread  across  the  country.  The

eCommittee  of  Supreme  Court  of  India gave  approval to  award  the eCourts' WAN project to BSNL. Work order to the tune of Rs. 169 crores has been awarded  to  BSNL  for  establishing Wide  Area Network  (WAN)  connecting  2992  district  and  subordinate  court complexes across the country, including 547 court complexes with no connectivity.  National  Informatics  Centre  has  operationalised  an online monitoring tool for tracking real-time progress and monitoring of pan - Indian WAN project against the set baselines.   Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) has already been laid at 2364 court complexes so far, out of 2992 project locations.

- (ii) The eCourts Mission Mode Project Phase-I was implemented during 2011  -  2015.  At  the  end  of  Phase-I,  out  of  the  total  target  of computerisation of 14,249 district and subordinate courts, sites for all 14,249  courts  (100%)  were  made  ready  for  computerisation,  out  of which LAN was installed at 13,643 courts, hardware was provided in 13,436  courts  and  software  was  installed  in  13,672  courts.  Laptops were  provided  to  14,309  judicial  officers  and  change  management exercise was completed in all the High Courts. Over 14,000 Judicial Officers were trained in the use of UBUNTU-Linux Operating System and more  than  4,000  court staff have  been  trained  as  System Administrators in Case Information System (CIS). Video Conferencing facility was operationalised between 488 court complexes and 342 corresponding jails.
- (iii) The eCourts Mission Mode Project Phase-II is being implemented for a  period  of  four  years  (2015-19)  or  until  the  project  is  completed, whichever  is  later.  The    target  set  out  under  the  project  are  14,249 courts  covered  under  the  first  phase,  4,013  new  courts  and  1,738 expected courts, totaling  20,000 courts. Against the financial outlay of  Rs.1,670  crores  in  the  second  phase,  Rs.1,087  crores  have  been released,  including  Rs.931.3  crores  to  High  Courts.  Rs.632.3  crore have been utilised by the High Courts.
- (iv) As per information  received  from  eCommittee  of Supreme  Court of India, 16,845 courts have been computerized till date. The High Court wise details of such district and subordinate courts are at AnnexureI.
- (v) All  the  district  and  subordinate  courts  computerized  under  eCourts project  have  been  linked  to  National  Judicial  Data  Grid  (NJDG), which is a common repository of case records across the country . The portal also provides online information to citizens including litigants such as details of case registration, cause list, case status, daily orders, and final judgments. Currently litigants can access case status information in respect of over 10.97 crore cases.
- (vi) E-Courts mobile app with the facility of QR Code was launched on 22.07.2017 for use of litigants and lawyers.  Services under different captions viz. Search by CNR, Case Status, Cause List and My Cases are available on this application. The application can be downloaded both from Google Play  or Apple Store.
- (vii) Furthermore,  the  facility  of  providing  case  information  services through SMS  has  also been implemented and the process of disseminating system-generated SMSs is operational.
- (viii) During the Phase II, till date, 172.75 crore electronic transactions have been recorded for eCourts through eTaal portal.
- (ix) Integration  of  eCourts  Services  through  Common  Service  Centers (CSC)  has  been  successfully  completed,  and  this  has    enabled  the eCourt  CNR  Service  through  Digital  Seva  Portal  in  all  Common Service Center (CSC) locations across the country.

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ANNEXURE:I

| S. No.   | Name of the High Court    | Number of computerised district and subordinate courts   |
|----------|---------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|
| 1.       | Allahabad                 | 2,072                                                    |
| 2.       | Andhra Pradesh &Telangana | 1,078                                                    |
| 3.       | Bombay                    | 2,079                                                    |
| 4.       | Calcutta                  | 811                                                      |
| 5.       | Chhattisgarh              | 357                                                      |
| 6.       | Delhi                     | 427                                                      |
| 7.       | Gauhati                   | 496                                                      |
| 8.       | Gujarat                   | 1,108                                                    |
| 9.       | Himachal Pradesh          | 119                                                      |
| 10.      | Jammu And Kashmir         | 218                                                      |
| 11.      | Jharkhand                 | 351                                                      |
| 12.      | Karnataka                 | 897                                                      |
| 13.      | Kerala                    | 486                                                      |
| 14.      | Madras                    | 1,032                                                    |
| 15.      | Madhya Pradesh            | 1,293                                                    |
| 16.      | Manipur                   | 37                                                       |
| 17.      | Meghalaya                 | 39                                                       |
| 18.      | Orissa                    | 534                                                      |
| 19.      | Patna                     | 1,025                                                    |
| 20.      | Punjab And Haryana        | 1,018                                                    |
| 21.      | Rajasthan                 | 1,094                                                    |
| 22.      | Sikkim                    | 19                                                       |
| 23.      | Uttarakhand               | 186                                                      |
| 24.      | Tripura                   | 69                                                       |
| Total    |                           | 16,845                                                   |