Lok Sabha Question No. 1737 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-16
Subject: Digitisation of Courts
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Ranjanben Dhananjay Bhatt

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. †1737

## TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 16 th  DECEMBER, 2022

## Digitisation of Courts

## †1737. SHRIMATI RANJANBEN DHANANJAY BHATT:

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

- (a) whether the Government is seriously considering for digitization of all courts in the country;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  steps  taken  by  the Government in this regard; and
- (c) if not, the reasons thereof?

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

(a):The  Government  has  launched  the  eCourts  Integrated  Mission  Mode Project  in  the  country  for  computerizationof  District  and  subordinate  courts, which  also  includes  digitization  with  the  objective  of  improving  access  to justice using technology. The Phase I of eCourts was concluded in 2015. Phase II  of  the  project  started  in  2015  under  which  18,735  District  &  Subordinate courts have been computerised so far.

(b):In the phase-I of the project from 2011-2015, out of total outlay of Rs.935 crore,  the  Government  incurred  an  expenditure  of  Rs.  639.41crore.  In  the phase- II of the project, which started in 2015, out of total outlay of Rs. 1670 crore, the Government has released a sum of Rs. 1668.43 crore till 31.03.2022 to  various  implementing  agencies  involved  in  the  implementation  of  the project.As per information provided by eCommittee of Supreme Court of India total  18,735  District  and  Sub-ordinate  courts  have  been  digitised  under  the eCourts  Project  so  far.  Towards  enhancement  of  ICT  enablement  of  Courts, following initiatives have been taken under eCourts project by the eCommittee of the Supreme Court and the Department of Justice:

- i. Under the Wide Area Network (WAN) Project, 2973 courts sites have been commissioned with 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps bandwidth speed.
- 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.
- iii. A new software patch and user manual for COVID-19 management has also been developed to help in smart scheduling of cases.
- iv. 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  21.74 crore cases and more than 19.80 crore orders / judgments (as on 01.12.2022). 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.

- v. 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 1.50 cr. downloads  till  31 st October  2022)  and  JustIS  app  for  judges  (17,709 downloads till 31 st November 2022). JustIS mobile app is now available in iOS as well.
- vi. 21 Virtual Courts in 17 States/UTs have been operationalized to handle traffic challan cases. More than 2.30 crore cases have been handled by 21 virtual courts and in more than 31 lakhs (31,67,080) cases online fine of more than Rs. 337.42 crore has been realised till 01.12.2022.
- vii. The Supreme Court of India emerged as a global leader by conducting 2,97,435 hearings  (till 03.09.2022  since  the  beginning  of  lockdown period).  The  High  Courts  (75,80,347 cases  and  Subordinate  Courts 1,65,20,791 cases) have conducted  2.41 crore virtual hearings till 03.09.2022.  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 courtrooms 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.
- viii. New e-filing system (version 3.0) has been rolled out for the electronic filing  of  legal  papers  with  upgraded  features.    Draft eFiling rules  have been formulated and circulated to the High Courts for adoption. A total of  19  High  Courts  have  adopted  the  model  rules  of  e-Filing  as  on 31.10.2022.

- ix. 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. A total of 16 High Courts have implemented ePayments in their respective jurisdictions. The Court Fees Act has been amended in 22 High Courts till 31.10.2022.
- 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 28 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 38 LED Display Message Sign Board System called Justice Clocks, have been installed in 24 High Courts.
- xiii. Towards creating  widespread  awareness  and  familiarization  of  eFiling and eCourts services and to address 'skill divide', a manual on eFiling and  a  Brochure  on  'How  to  register  for  eFiling'  has  been  made available in English, Hindi and 11 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 eFiling.  The  eCommittee  of  the Supreme Court of India has conducted trainings and awareness programmes  on  the  ICT  services.  These  programmes  have  covered nearly  5,13,080  stakeholders,  including  High  Court  Judges,  Judges  of the District Judiciary, Court Staff, Master Trainers among Judges/DSA, Technical Staff of High Courts, and Advocates.

As per data published on Electronic Transaction Aggregation & Analysis Layer (eTaal) portal, eCourts is leading among top 5 MMPs in India with total 639 Cr e-transactions in last one year.

(c):Does not arise in view of (b) above.

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