Lok Sabha Question No. 1619 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-02-11
Subject: Delivery of Justice
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Nayab Singh

## TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 11.02.2022

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1619 DELIVERY OF JUSTICE

## 1619. SHRI NAYAB SINGH:

## Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  taken  any  steps  to  tackle  the  challenges  and  improve delivery of justice to the citizens under the Strategy for New India at 75 and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has taken any steps for addressing the challenges being faced by judiciary as stated in the recent reports of economic survey and NITI Aayog and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Ministry is working out any plan to use the talent of law graduates who have completed  their  internship  and  have  obtained  practical  experience  in  Ministries  and Judiciary;
- (d) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government in this regard; and
- (e) thefurther steps taken by the Government to deliver justice for all in the society?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI KIREN RIJIJU)

(a) and (b): The NITI Aayog has formulated a document " Strategy for New India@75" which is placed in public domain at https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/201901/Strategy\_for\_New\_India\_2.pdf". Government has taken initiative to improve the infrastructure  facilities  viz.,  court  halls  and  residential  units  under  the  Centrally  Sponsored Scheme for  Development  of  Infrastructure  Facilities  for  judiciary.  An  amount  of  Rs.8,758.71 crores has been released to the States since the inception of the scheme in 1993-1994.  During the  period  from  2014  to  31.01.2022,  the  number  of  court  halls  has  increased  from  15,818  to

21,376 and the number of residential units increased from 10,211 to 18,276.  Government has also  approved  the  continuance  of  this  CSS  upto  31.03.2026,  with  a  total  budgetary  outlay  of Rs.9000 crores, including Central share of Rs.5,307 crores. The scheme components have been expanded, to also cover the construction of toilets, digital computer rooms and Lawyers' Hall, in addition to the Court Halls & Residential Units in the district and subordinate courts.From 2016 to  31.1.2022,  36  judges  have  been  appointed  in  the  Supreme  Court  and  616  Judges  were appointed in the High Courts while 502 Additional Judges were made permanent judges and 42 Additional  Judges  were  given  a  fresh  term.    A  separate  High  Court  has  been  established  in Andhra Pradesh State and a circuit bench of Calcutta High Court was established in Siliguri. The Government  has  approved  a  scheme  for  setting  up  1023  Fast  Track  Special  Courts  (FTSCs) across the country for expeditious disposal of pending cases of Rape under IPC and crimes under POCSO Act.

Under e-Courts Mission Mode Project, 18,735 District and Subordinate courts have been computerized. The other salient initiatives taken under the eCourts project include:

- i. Under Wide Area Network (WAN) Project, 2960 courts sites have been commissioned (as  on  07.02.2022)  with  10  Mbps  to  100  Mbps  bandwidth  speed.  This  forms  the backbone for ensuring data connectivity in courts across the length and breadth of the country.
- ii. Case Information Software (CIS) which forms the basis for the e-Court services is based on customized Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS) which has been developed by NIC. Currently CIS National Core Version 3.2 is being implemented in District Courts and the CIS National Core Version 1.0 is being implemented for the High Courts.A new  software  patch  and  user  manual  for  COVID-19  management  has  also  been developed to help in smart scheduling of cases.
- iii. National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) is a database of orders, judgments and cases, created as  an  online  platform  under  the  eCourts  Project.  It  provides  information  relating  to judicial  proceedings/decisions  of  all  computerized  district  and  subordinate  courts  of the country. Litigants can access case status information in respect of over 19.81 crore cases,  and  more  than 16.61 crore  orders  /  judgments  pertaining  to  these  have  been computerized (as on 01.02.2022). Open APIs have been introduced in 2020 to allow Central  and  State  Governments  and  institutional  litigants  including  local  bodies  to access NJDG data to improve pendency monitoring and compliance.
- iv. As part of eCourts project, 7 platforms have been created to provide real time information on case status, cause lists, judgements etc. to lawyers/Litigants through SMS Push and Pull (2,00,000 SMS sent daily), Email (2,50,000 sent daily), multilingual and tactile eCourts  services  Portal  (35  lakh  hits  daily),  JSC  (Judicial  Service  centres)  and  Info Kiosks.  In addition, Electronic Case Management Tools (ECMT) have been created with Mobile App for lawyers (total 72.20 lakh downloads till 3 rd January 2022) and JustIS app for judges (16,961 downloads till 2 nd February 2022). JustIS mobile app is now available in iOS as well.
- v. 17  Virtual  Courts  in  13  States/UTs  have  been  operationalized  to  handle  traffic  challan cases. More than 1.24 crore cases have been handled by 17 virtual courts and in more than 21 lakhs (21,45,341) cases online fine of more than Rs. 221 crore has been realised till 02.02.2022.
- vi. The Supreme Court of India emerged as a global leader by conducting 1,81,909 hearings (till 08.01.2022 since the beginning of lockdown period). The High Courts (57,39,966 cases  and  Subordinate  Courts  (1,08,36,087 cases)  have  conducted  1.65 crore  virtual  hearings  till  30.11.2021.  VC  facilities  have  also  been  enabled  between 3240 court complexes and corresponding 1272 jails. Funds for 2506 VC cabins and VC equipment for 14,443 court rooms have also been released. 1500 VC licenses have been procured to promote virtual hearings. A sum of Rs. 7.60 crore has been released for procurement of 1732 Document Visualizers.
- vii. New e-filing  system  (version  3.0)  has  been  rolled  out  for  the  electronic  filing  of  legal papers  with  upgraded  features  like  new  dashboard  including  the  options  of  my partners,  Case  Filing,  Vakalatnama,  pleading,  e-payments,  applications  and  case portfolio management. Draft eFiling rules have been formulated and circulated to the High Courts for adoption. A total of 17 high Courts have adopted the model rules of eFiling as on 31.12.2021.
- viii. e-Filing of cases requires the option for electronic payment of fees which includes court fees, fines and penalties which are directly payable to the Consolidated Fund. Online payment of court fees, fines, penalties and judicial deposits has been initiated through https://pay.ecourts.gov.in. A total of 16 High Courts have implemented ePayments in their respective jurisdictions. The Court Fees Act has been amended in 23 High Courts till 31.12.2021.
- ix. eSewa Kendras have been rolled  out  to  bridge  the  digital  divide  by  providing  e  filing services to lawyers and litigants. Government has released Rs. 12.54 crore for setting up eSewa Kendras. As on 31.12.2021, 451 eSewa Kendra's have been made functional in District Courts under 25 High Courts.
- x. National Service and Tracking of Electronic Processes (NSTEP) has been launched for technology  enabled  process  serving  and  issuing  of  summons.  It  has  currently  been implemented in 26 States/ UTs.
- xi. A new 'Judgment Search' portal has been started with features such as search by Bench, Case  Type,  Case  Number,  Year,  Petitioner/  Respondent  Name,  Judge  Name,  Act, Section,  Decision:  From  Date,  To  Date  and  Full  Text  Search.  This  facility  is  being provided free of cost to all.
- xii. To make effective use of database created through National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) and to make the information available to public 30 LED Display Message Sign Board System called Justice Clocks, have been installed in 20 High Courts.
- xiii. Towards  creating  widespread  awareness  and  familiarization  of  eFiling  and  eCourts services and to address 'skill divide', a manual on E filing and a Brochure on 'How to register  for  E  Filing'  has  been  made  available  in  English,  Hindi  and  12  regional languages for the use of the lawyers. A YouTube channel has been created in the name of  the  e  Court  services  with  video  tutorials  on  e-filing.  The  eCommittee  of  the Supreme Court of  India  has  conducted  trainings  and  awareness  programmes  on  the ICT services. These programmes have covered nearly 3,60,993 stakeholders, including High  Court  Judges,  Judges  of  the  District  Judiciary,  Court  Staff,  Master  Trainers among Judges/DSA, Technical Staff of High Courts, and Advocates.

(c)  and  (d): National  Legal  Service  Authority  (NALSA)  has  been  conducting  internship programme for the law students.  The objective of the internship programme is that law interns should get a comprehensive idea of the working of the legal services institutions and the legal services programmes with regional focus.  The programme is a 3 weeks programme. The interns are  required  to  spend  about  two  weeks  with  the  District  Legal  Services  Authority  (DLSA)  of their choice.   After the period of two weeks with the DLSA, the interns are associated with the Delhi  State  Legal  Services  Authority  and  National  Legal  Services  Authority  to  observe  its working.  During the period of their internship programmes, the law students visit Central jail or Sub  Jail  and  interact  with  the  inmates;  visit  Observation  Home/Juvenile  Justice  Board/Child

Welfare  Committee/Drug  Rehabilitation  Centre/District  Courts  including  magisterial,  Sessions and Civil  courts  and  police  stations;  attend  and  participate  in  Legal  Literacy/Legal  awareness programme; watch the mediation proceedings as Mediation/ADR centres and Lok Adalat; etc. On successful completion of the internship, a certificate is issued to the law interns.   In addition, Legal Aid Clinics are operational in various Law Colleges and Universities, wherein the students were provided opportunity to work under the guidance of the District Legal Services Authorities of the district. Through such clinics legal aid is promoted and awareness in the villages wherein the students are involved.

(e): With  the  objective  to  deliver  'justice  for  all',  the  Government  has  launched  'Designing Innovative  Solutions  for  Holistic  Access  to  Justice  in  India'(DISHA)  that  seeks  to  enrich  the quality of Legal Aid particularly for the marginalised.  Tele Law under DISHA seeks to connect the citizens with the Panel Lawyers to seek pre-litigation legal advice via Tele/video conferencing facilities  available  at  the  Common  Service  Centres  (CSC)  across  India  and  directly  through Citizens' Tele- Law Mobile Application.  To maximise the benefits of Tele-Law Outreach to the vulnerable  sections  of  the  society,  law  students  in  particular  and  students  in  general  are  being motivated to volunteer and register as Para Legal Volunteers on the citizens' Tele-Law Mobile Application.  Till 31.1.2022 more than 13.50 lakh beneficiaries have received advice under TeleLaw.  Government has also launched the legal empowerment initiatives of Nyaya Bandhu to link persons eligible to avail free legal aid under Section 12 of Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 with pro bono lawyers.  3853 pro bono advocates and 1436 beneficiaries have been registered. Furthermoreto inculcate a culture of pro bonoamongst law students, Pro bono Clubs have been initiated  wherein 29  Law Schools have been on boarded under the Nyaya Bandhu programme. National  Legal  Services  Authority  (NALSA)  a  statutory  body,  has  taken  various  steps  to strengthening and improving the delivery of legal services to the common citizens in the country, including creation of a web portal to file Applications through online for getting legal assistance; launched Legal Services Mobile App for Android and IOS version to facilitate citizens seeking legal  assistance/advice  and  track  their  application;  provide  legal  assistance  at  remand  stage  to suspects and arrestees; and provide Legal aid to convicts for filing appeals; etc.

The  Legal  Services  Authorities  (LSA)  Act,  1987  provides  free  and  competent  legal services to the weaker sections of the society including beneficiaries covered under Section 12 of the Act to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities,  and  to  organize  Lok  Adalats  to  secure  that  the  operation  of  the legal system promotes justice on the basis of equal opportunities.

To meet the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic, NALSA moved holding of Lok Adalats to  the  virtual  platform  known as E-Lok Adalat.The first E-Lok Adalat was held on 27.06.2020 and since then E-Lok Adalats have been organized in 28 States / UTs; wherein 66.93 lakh cases were taken up and 23.47 lakh cases were disposed of.During the period from 1 st April 2020 to 31 st December  2021,  more  than  1.41  crore  pre-litigation  and  pending  cases  were  disposed  of  in National  Lok  Adalats.  Further,  during  the  same  period,  11.72  lakh  pre-litigation  and  pending cases  were  settled  through  State  Lok  Adalats  and  1.23  lakh  pre-litigation  cases  were  settled through Permanent Lok Adalats.

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