Lok Sabha Question No. 4056 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-24
Subject: Expenses on Litigations
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Rajkumar Chahar

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 4056 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 24 th  MARCH, 2023

## Expenses on Litigations

## 4056. SHRI RAJ KUMAR CHAHAR:

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

- (a) whether the Government is aware of the prohibitive cost being borne by litigants of Western Uttar Pradesh in pursuing their litigation at Allahabad and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  promote  e-filing  and  hearing through video conferencing in the High Courts to save the travelling and expenses of litigation;
- (c) whether any communications have been sent to the Chief Justice of the Allahabad  High  Court  for  promoting  e-filing  and  virtual  hearing  of  the cases and if so, the details and the outcome thereof; and
- (d) whether the Government is aware of the global trend of hearing through video conferencing and if so, the details thereof?

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

(a)  :  So  far  as,  Court  fees  are  concerned,  the  same  is  equal  for  all  litigants approaching  a  court.  However,  transportation  and  other  logistic  expenses  are additional  costs  that  are  borne  by  the  litigants,  who  are  based  outside  the  cities, wherein the courts are located.

(b)  :  Under  eCourts  Mission  Mode  Project  Phase  -II,  Government  has  started various  e-initiatives  including  eFiling  and  video  conferencingto  facilitate  easy access to justice and thus, reducing expenses of litigation as well as travelling time.

New e-filing system (version 3.0) has been rolled out for the electronic filing of legal papers with upgraded features. In the new version, new tab is provided which allows Advocates and litigants to record their oath with in-system video recording while uploading documents. The new version provides new dashboard including the options of my partners, Case Filing, Vakalatnama, pleading, e-payments, applications  and  portfolio.  Help  section  provided  in  the  new  version  provides tutorial videos, FAQ and user manual.

Government has released Rs.119.29 crores for installation of Video Conferencing equipment. 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.

As  part  of  IEC  campaign  several  initiatives  have  been  taken  to  educate  the Judicial  Officers,  lawyers  and  public  about  the  facilities  available  under  eCourts Project, such as

##  eCommittee Website

Launched exclusively for the e-Committee and linked to the website of the DoJ for dissemination of information relating to eCourts Project amongst all stakeholders  and  to  enable  High  Courts  to  upload  their  achievements  and best practices.

-  Awareness through social media platforms like YouTube, twitter,facebook, Kooh, Instagram

Under  the  title  'eCourts  Services'  for  video  tutorials  on  eFiling.12  help videos  in  7  regional  languages  have  been  uploaded  apart  from  Hindi  and

English and circulated for advocates as part of awareness, through eFiling portal  help  desk  and  also  on  social  media  through  eCommittee  YouTube channel.

##  Awareness and familiarization of e-filing

Various  webinars  were  held  for  different  High  Courts  on  eFiling.  Manual and Brochure on eFiling made available on eFiling Portal.

##  eCommittee Training at National and State level

Training  and  awareness  programmes  on  the  ICT  have  been  conducted covering  nearly  5,13,080  stakeholders  including  Judges  of  States,  Courts staff  and  Advocates.  25  Master  Trainers  have  been  trained  in  each  High Court  who  in  turn  has  already  trained  5409  Master  Trainers  across  the country.  These,  5409  Master  Trainers  have  in  turn  imparted  training programme on eCourts Services and e-filing in each district of the country for advocates in their regional languages and also identified Master Trainer Advocates.

(c) and (d) : Yes Sir, vide DO letter dated 09.03.2023, Hon'ble Minister of Law & Justice, Shri Kiren Rijiju has written to Chief Justices of all High Courts including Chief Justice of Allahabad emphasising the role of virtual hearings and saturation of eSewa Kendras in all court complexes for providing these services.

Video Conferencing emerged as the mainstay of the Courts during the Covid lockdown  period  as  physical  hearings  and  normal  court  proceedings  in  the congregational mode were not possible. Through video conferencing the District & Subordinate courts heard 1,84,95,235 cases while the High Courts heard 77,67,596 cases (totalling 2.62 cr) till 31.01.2023. The  Hon'ble  Supreme Court of India held 4,02,937 hearings through video conferencing till 31.01.2023.

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