Lok Sabha Question No. 5555 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-27
Subject: Status of e-Courts Mission Mode Project Phase-III
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Dr. Hemang Joshi, Shri Dhairyasheel Sambhajirao Mane, Shri Bhojraj Nag, Shri Madhavaneni Raghunandan Rao, Shri Sudheer Gupta, Shri Naba Charan Majhi, Shri Ramesh Awasthi, Shri Anoop Pradhan Valmiki, Shri Manish Jaiswal, Shri Shankar Lalwani, Shri Alok Sharma, Shri Chavan Ravindra Vasantrao, Shri Praveen Patel, Shri Lumbaram Choudhary, Shri P P Chaudhary, Shri Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Shri Satish Kumar Gautam, Shri Balabhadra Majhi, Shri Tejasvi Surya

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE

## DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5555 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 27 TH  MARCH, 2026

## STATUS OF e-COURTS MISSION MODE PROJECT PHASE-III

## 5555. SHRI BALABHADRA MAJHI:

- SHRI TEJASVI SURYA:
- SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA:
- SHRI SUKHJINDER SINGH RANDHAWA:
- SHRI DHAIRYASHEEL SAMBHAJIRAO MANE:
- SHRI ANOOP PRADHAN VALMIKI:
- SHRI ALOK SHARMA:
- SHRI PRAVEEN PATEL:
- SHRI RAMESH AWASTHI:
- SHRI P P CHAUDHARY:
- SHRI LUMBARAM CHOUDHARY:
- SHRI SHANKAR LALWANI:
- SHRI BHOJRAJ NAG:
- SHRI CHAVAN RAVINDRA VASANTRAO:
- SHRI MANISH JAISWAL:
- SHRI SATISH KUMAR GAUTAM:
- SHRI NABA CHARAN MAJHI:
- DR. HEMANG JOSHI:
- SHRI MADHAVANENI RAGHUNANDAN RAO:

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

- (a) the current status of Phase-III of the e-Courts Project, sanctioned with an outlay of Rs.7,210 crore and the targets achieved for the digitization of legacy judicial records so far, including Punjab;
- (b) the  details  of  the  "Digital-Native"  ecosystem  being  developed  to  generate  court  records digitally, thereby reducing the reliance on physical scanning;
- (c) the number of e-Sewa Kendras established across district court complexes to bridge the digital divide for litigants and lawyers lacking high-speed internet access, particularly in Pali District Court;

- (d) whether the Government is piloting Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools for automated case-law research and "Virtual Evidence Rooms" to expedite the trial process;
- (e) if so, the details thereof; and
- (f) the total number of virtual hearings conducted by the Indian judiciary since the transition to a permanent hybrid hearing model along with India's global ranking in this domain?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS

## (SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL)

(a) and (b): The e-Courts Mission Mode Project is being implemented in a phased manner across the  country  with  the  objective  of  strengthening  the  use  of  Information  and  Communication Technology (ICT) in the judicial system. The Phase III (2023-27) of the e-Courts Project with a financial outlay of Rs. 7,210 crore is under implementation at present. Over the years, the e-Courts project has seen continued progress through expansion of e-filing, e-payments, increased adoption of  virtual  and  hybrid  hearings,  digitisation  of  court  records,  strengthening  of  Case  Information System and enhanced public access to case information through the NJDG etc. Some key initiatives and achievements contributing to the development of a digital ecosystem under the eCourts Mission Mode Project, as on 31.01.2026, are as under:

- (i) 30 Virtual Courts have been established to enable online adjudication of traffic challans. Virtual Courts have received 10.13 crore challans and challans amounting to Rs. 1002.73 crore were paid.
- (ii) Video  Conferencing  Rules  have  been  implemented  in  all  the  High  Courts  and  District Courts.
- (iii) Video Conferencing (VC) facilities have been expanded across 3,240 court complexes and 1,272 jails. Courts have conducted over 3.97 crore hearings through video conferencing, facilitating remote hearings of undertrials, witnesses and lawyers.
- (iv) Live streaming of court proceeding is operational in 11 High Courts.
- (v) E-filing and e-payments systems have been implemented to allow online filing of cases and digital  payment of court fees and fines. Approximately 1.07 crore cases have been filed

through  the  e-filing  platform  and  the  e-payments  system  has  processed  transactions  for court-fee worth Rs. 1,404 crore and fine worth Rs. 75 crore.

- (vi) NJDG provides public access to case data, statistics of courts across the country and has been upgraded with an improved dashboard, functioning as a monitoring tool, to identify, manage & reduce pendency of cases.
- (vii) Case  Information  System  (CIS)  4.0  has  been  implemented  in  all  courts,  with  enhanced usability, privacy safeguards and integration with national platforms such as NJDG, e-filing, virtual courts and Interoperable Criminal Justice System (ICJS).
- (viii) The  S3WaaS (Secure,  Scalable  and  Sugamya  Website  as  a  Service)  platform  hosts  730 District Court websites, ensuring secure and accessible web infrastructure.
- (ix) Real-time  digital  services  have  expanded  significantly,  with  case  updates  being  sent  to lawyers and litigants through SMS Push and Pull (over 4 lakh SMS sent daily), email (over 6 lakh sent daily) and the multilingual e-Courts services portal (with 35 lakh hits daily).
- (x) The e-Courts Services mobile app (3.59 crore downloads) provides the lawyers and litigants relevant information about case status, cause lists etc.
- (xi) The JustIS app (22,133 downloads) is a management tool for the judges assisting them to effectively organise and monitor their judicial business.
- (xii) 48 e-Sewa Kendras are functional across all the High Courts and 2,396 e-Sewa Kendras across the District Courts.
- (xiii) The  National  Service  and  Tracking  of  Electronics  Processes  (NSTEP)  system  has  been implemented for electronic service and tracking of summons and notices using mobile-based and GPS-enabled delivery mechanisms. Under NSTEP, the courts have processed 7.40 crore e-processes.
- (xiv) Digital Courts 2.1 is a customized application for paperless Courts (pilot stage) with facility of  translation  and  transcription  using  AI.  It  enables  judges  to  access  all  case  related documents, pleadings, and evidence digitally, marking a significant leap toward a paperless court ecosystem

Under eCourts Phase-III, over 660.36 crore pages of court records including 94.71 cr. pages by the Punjab & Haryana High Court have been digitized to ensure faster retrieval, secure storage and seamless digital workflows.

(c): Total 2,444 e-Sewa Kendras are functional across all 28 High Court jurisdictions (48 e-Sewa Kendra in High Courts and 2,396 in District Courts) .

As per the information provided by the High Court of Rajasthan, an e-Sewa Kendra has been established at the District Court Complex in Pali.

(d) and (e): Under eCourts Project Phase III, an amount of Rs. 53.57 crore has been earmarked for the  component  'Future  Technological  Advancements'  to  integrate  modern  technologies  like Artificial Intelligence (AI) etc. An AI based software tool called Legal Research Analysis Assistant [LegRAA] has been developed to aid judges in legal research and document analysis. Another AI based tool called Digital Courts 2.1 has been designed to assist Judges and Judicial Officers by providing  a  single  window  for  managing  all  case-related  information  and  tasks.  The  platform includes voice-to-text (ASR-SHRUTI) and translation (PANINI) functionalities to assist the judges with order and judgment dictation.

(f): Since introduction of hybrid hearing model, Courts have conducted over 3.97 crore hearings through  video  conferencing,  facilitating  remote  hearings  of  undertrials,  witnesses  and  lawyers, positioning India as a global leader in virtual hearing.

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