Lok Sabha Question No. 159 (STARRED), answered on 2022-02-11
Subject: Utilisation of Artificial Intelligence in Judicial Process
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Kuruva Gorantla Madhav, Geetha Viswanath Vanga

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION No. *159 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 11 th  FEBRUARY, 2022

## Utilisation of Artificial Intelligence in Judicial Process

## *159. SHRI KURUVA GORANTLA MADHAV: SHRIMATI VANGA GEETHA VISWANATH:

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

- (a) whether  the  Government  plans  to  utilize  blockchain  technology  and Artificial Intelligence to supplement judicial process and help reducing judicial delays, if so, the details thereof; and
- (b) the steps undertaken by the Government to ensure continuous upgradation of e-court project?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE

(SHRI KIREN RIJIJU)

(a) to (b): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) TO (b) OF LOK SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.*159  FOR  11 th FEBRUARY,  2022 REGARDING  UTILISATION  OF  ARTIFICIAL  INTELLEGENCE  IN JUDICIAL PROCESS

(a): Presently eCourts Phase II is under implementation since 2015. While Phase II is  still  underway,  a  need  was  felt  for  adoption  of  new  cutting  edge  technology  of machine  learning  and  Artificial  Intelligence  for  enhancing  the  efficiency  of  the justice delivery system. To explore the use of AI in judicial domain, the Supreme Court of India has constituted Artificial Intelligence Committee which has mainly identified application of AI technology in Translation of judicial documents; Legal research assistance and Process automation.

(b): The salient ongoing steps taken to upgrade the eCourts project includes:

- i. Under the 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 eCourt  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
5. 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 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.
- 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 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.
- vi. 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.
- vii. 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
9. 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.
- viii. 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 e-Filing as on 31.12.2021.
- 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. 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.
- x. 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.
- xi. 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.
- xii. 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.

- xiii. 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.
- xiv. 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.

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