Lok Sabha Question No. 1002 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-08
Subject: Investment for e-Courts
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Aparupa  Poddar

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1002 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 8 th  DECEMBER, 2023

## Investment for e-Courts

## 1002. SHRIMATI APARUPA PODDAR:

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

- (a) the details of funds invested and spent for e-Courts from 2014 onwards, phase and year wise;
- (b)
- the number of cases resolved through e-Courts during the last five years;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  started  investing  the  funds  allocated  for phase- III of the e-Court Project; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE; MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE (SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL)

(a): The eCourts Mission Mode Project is a National eGovernance project for ICT  enablement  of  district/subordinate  courts  of  the  country  with  a  view  to facilitate faster disposal of cases by speeding up court processes and providing transparent on-line flow of information on case status, orders/judgments etc. to the judiciary as well as litigants, lawyers and other stakeholders.  The eCourts Phase  I  was  aimed  at  basic  computerization  of  courts  and  providing  local network connectivity under which a total expenditure of Rs.639.41 crore was

done.   Phase  II  of  the  project  focused  on  citizen-centric  e-services  besides computerising 18735 courts and interconnecting these with wide area network (WAN). Against the  financial  outlay  of  Rs.1670  crore  in  the  phase  II  of  the project, the Department of Justice has released Rs.1668.43 crore for implementation of the project till 31 st March 2022. The details of funds invested and spent under eCourts from 2014 onwards, phase and year wise is attached at Annexure-I.

(b):  As  per  data  available on National Judicial Data Grid, the Case Clearance Rate (CCR) of the District & Subordinate Courts has risen from 60.57% in 2011 to  89.33%  in  2022.  Case  Clearance  Rate  depends  on  various  factors  like complexity of facts involved, nature of evidence, co-operation of stake holders but the intervention of technology through eCourts Project is considered as one of  the  important  factorS  that  has  attributed  to  the  increase  in  case  clearance rate/disposal  particularly  during  the  COVID  times.  Components  of  eCourts Mission Mode Project such as Video Conferencing, Virtual Courts for traffic challans,  eFiling,  ePayment,  eSewakendras,  eCourts  services  app  and  portal, JustIS app, National Service and tracking of Electronic Processes (NSTEP),etc have helped in reducing the procedural delay, thus, enabling faster adjudication of  cases. As on  30.11.2023,as per the data available onNational Judicial Data Grid,  7,72,22,815  cases  have  been  disposed  off  during  the  last  five  years,in District & Subordinate Courts.

(c) & (d): Ministry of  Finance has released Rs.225 crore from the contingency fund for eCourts Phase III. With the approval of eCommittee, Supreme Court of India, the Department of Justice has allocated Rs. 102.50 crore for BSNL and NIC and Rs. 110.24 crore  sub-allocated to various  High  Courts  for  Scanning and  Digitization,  establishment  of  eSewa  Kendras,  procurement  of  Hardware, Solar Power backup etc.

## Annexure-I

Statement  referred  to  in  reply  of  Lok  Sabha  Unstarred  Question  No.1002  for  08/12/2023 regarding  Investment  for  e-Courts.  The  details  of  funds  invested  and  spent  under  eCourts Mission Mode Project from 2014 onwards, phase and year wise is;

| Year     | Revised Estimate (Rs. Crore)   | TotalExpenditure (Rs. Crore)   |
|----------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
| Phase I  |                                |                                |
| 2014-15  | 35.00                          | 9.95                           |
| 2015-16  | 2.00                           | 2.00                           |
| Phase II |                                |                                |
| 2015-16  | 227.13                         | 209.87                         |
| 2016-17  | 286.00                         | 344.82                         |
| 2017-18  | 416.00                         | 374.11                         |
| 2018-19  | 480.00                         | 282.76                         |
| 2019-20  | 256.53                         | 179.26                         |
| 2020-21  | 250.00                         | 179.31                         |
| 2021-22  | 98.92                          | 98.30                          |