Lok Sabha Question No. 1498 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-07-28
Subject: Quick and Fair Justice
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Kotha Prabhakar  Reddy

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1498 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 28 th  JULY, 2023

## Quick and Fair Justice

## 1498. SHRI KOTHA PRABHAKAR REDDY:

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

- (a) whether the Government has taken note of the recent observation that the technology  needs  to  be  used  as  an  important  enabler  to  reach  out  to citizens  and  to  provide  justice  quickly  and  fairly  as  an  essential  service and if so, the details of steps taken and the progress made in this regard; and
- (b)  whether in  recent  years,  courts  across  India  have  increasingly  turned  to technology  to  improve  the  efficiency  and  accessibility  of  the  justice system and if so, the details and the present status thereof indicating the new technologies adopted and services being provided through them?

## 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) & (b): As part of the National eGovernance Plan, the eCourts Mission Mode Project  is  under  implementation  for  ICT  development  of  the  Indian  Judiciary based on the 'National Policy and Action Plan for Implementation of Information and  Communication  Technology  in  the  Indian  Judiciary'.  eCourts  project  is being implemented in association with eCommittee Supreme Court of India and Department of Justice. Its vision is to transform the judicial system of the country

by  ICT  enablement  of  courts  and  to  enhance  the  judicial  productivity,  both qualitatively & quantitatively, making the justice delivery system accessible, cost effective,  reliable,  and  transparent.  Phase  I  of  the  project  was  implemented between    2011-2015.  It  aimed  at  computerization  of  courts  and  providing network  connectivity.  Phase  I  of  the  eCourts  project  was  largely  aimed  at procuring  and  installing  hardware  and  providing  network  connectivity.  14,249 courts were computerised under this phase. Phase II of the project extended from 2015-2023.Phase  II  of  the  project  focused  towards  ICT  facilitation  of  judicial services to citizens. 18,735 District & Subordinate courts computerized under this phase.    The  Government  has  taken  the  following  e-initiatives  to  make  justice accessible and available for all: -

- i. Under  the  Wide  Area  Network  (WAN)  Project,  connectivity  has  been provided to 99.4%  (2976  out of earmarked  2994)  of total Court Complexes across India with 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps bandwidth speed.
- ii. 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  23.34 crore  cases  and more than 22.21 crore orders / judgments (as on 03.07.2023).
- iii. Case  Information  Software  (CIS)  based  on  customized  Free  and  OpenSource  Software  (FOSS)  has  been  developed.    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.
- iv. A new software patch and court user manual for COVID-19 management has also been developed.  This tool will help in smart scheduling of cases thereby enabling judicial officers to retain urgent cases and adjourn cases

not  urgent  on  cause  list.      A  user  manual  for  this  patch  has  also  been issued for the ease of the stakeholders.

- 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  1.88  crore  downloads  till 30.06.2023) and JustIS app for judges (19,164 downloads till 30.06.2023).
- vi. India has emerged as a global leader in conducting court hearing through Video Conferencing. The District & Subordinate courts heard 1,98,67,081 cases while the High Courts heard  78,69,708cases (totalling 2.77 crore) till  30.06.2023  using  video  conferencing  system.  The  Hon'ble  Supreme Court  of  India  held  4,82,941  hearings  through  video  conferencing  till 15.05.2023.  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.
- vii. Live Streaming of court proceedings has been started in High Courts of Gujarat, Gauhati, Orissa,  Karnataka, Jharkhand, Patna, Madhya Pradesh &  Hon'ble  Supreme  Court  of  India  thus  allowing  media  and  other interested persons to join the proceedings.
- viii. 22 Virtual Courts in 18 States/UTs have been operationalized to handle traffic challan cases. More than 3.26 crore cases have been handled by 22 virtual courts and in more than 39 lakhs (39,16,405) cases online fine of more than Rs. 419.89 crore has been realized till 30.06.2023.

- ix. 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 30.06.2023.
- x. 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  20  High  Courts  have  implemented  epayments in their respective jurisdictions. The Court Fees Act has been amended in 22 High Courts till 30.06.2023.
- xi. To  bridge  the  digital  divide,  819  eSewaKendras  have  been  rolled  out with the intention of facilitating the lawyer or litigant who needs any kind of assistance ranging from information to facilitation and eFiling. It also assists  the  litigants  in  accessing  online  eCourts  services  and  acts  as  a saviour for those who cannot afford the technology or are located in farflung areas. It  also  aids  to  addresses  the  challenges  caused  by  illiteracy among citizens at large. It will provide benefits in saving time, avoidance of exertion, travelling long distances, and saving cost by offering facilities of  e-filing  of  cases  across  the  country,  to  conduct  the  hearing  virtually, scanning, accessing e-Courts services etc.
- xii. In addition to eSewaKendras, as part of the DISHA  (Designing Innovative  Solutions  for  Holistic Access  to  Justice)    scheme    the Government of India has launched Tele Law program since 2017, which provides  an  effective  and  reliable  e-interface  platform  connecting  the needy and disadvantaged sections seeking legal advice and consultation with panel lawyers via video conferencing, telephone and chat facilities available  at  the  Common  Service  Centres  (CSCs)  situated  in  Gram Panchayat and through Tele-Law mobile App.

- xiii. 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.
- xiv. 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.

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