Cabinet approves eCourts Phase III for 4 years

On September 13, 2023, the Union Cabinet, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, granted its approval to the eCourts Project Phase III. This initiative represents a significant leap forward in the ongoing efforts to modernize and enhance the accessibility of the Indian judicial system. With a substantial financial allocation of Rs. 7210 crore, this central sector scheme is poised to extend over a period of four years, commencing in 2023.

Detailed Analysis:

Vision of Accessible Justice:

The eCourts Project Phase III is deeply rooted in the vision of “Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, and Sabka Vishwas,” as championed by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Its primary objective is to leverage cutting-edge technology to make justice more accessible to all segments of society.

Historical Context:

The e-Courts Project, initiated in 2007, has been a crucial instrument in the digitization and modernization of the Indian judiciary. Phase II of the project successfully concluded in 2023. Phase III builds upon this rich history, embracing the philosophy of “access and inclusion.”

Digital Transformation:

At its core, the eCourts Phase III project aims to usher in an era of digital, online, and paperless courts. This ambitious endeavor includes the comprehensive digitization of court records, encompassing both current and legacy records. Furthermore, the project seeks to universalize the practice of e-Filing and e-Payments across all court complexes, thereby significantly reducing bureaucratic red tape.

Smart Systems:

The project introduces intelligent smart systems designed to facilitate data-driven decision-making for judges and registries. These systems will play a pivotal role in case scheduling and prioritization. Moreover, they promise to create a seamless and paperless interface connecting the courts, litigants, and other stakeholders involved in the judicial process.

Collaborative Implementation:

The eCourts Phase III is a centrally sponsored scheme, jointly executed by the Department of Justice, Ministry of Law & Justice, Government of India, and the eCommittee, Supreme Court of India. It operates in a decentralized manner through High Courts across the nation. This approach is intended to promote ease of justice by making the system more accessible, affordable, reliable, predictable, and transparent for all stakeholders.

Key Components:

The project’s financial allocation of Rs. 7210 crore is distributed across various critical components, each playing a pivotal role in the transformation of the judicial landscape. These components include scanning, digitization, and digital preservation of case records, cloud infrastructure, establishment of virtual courts, paperless court initiatives, system and application software development, and much more.

Conclusion:

The approval of eCourts Phase III signifies a monumental milestone in India’s judicial history. This visionary initiative promises to bridge the digital divide by enabling citizens, even those without direct access to technology, to access judicial services through eSewa Kendras. It also champions environmental sustainability by reducing reliance on paper-based filings and physical document movements.

Furthermore, the project extends its impact to court proceedings, reducing costs associated with physical presence, such as travel expenses for witnesses, judges, and other stakeholders. It introduces advanced technologies like AI and its subsets, Machine Learning (ML), Optical Character Recognition (OCR), and Natural Language Processing (NLP), creating a “smart” ecosystem that facilitates better decision-making and policy planning.

By expanding the reach of virtual courts and emphasizing automated delivery of court summons, the project aims to significantly reduce delays in trials. Overall, eCourts Phase III holds the promise of making court processes more efficient, transparent, and accessible, thereby contributing substantially to the reduction of pending cases and the realization of justice for all.

Cabinet

Cabinet approves eCourts Phase III for 4 years

Posted On: 13 SEP 2023 3:30PM by PIB Delhi

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the eCourts Project Phase III as a Central Sector Scheme spanning four years (2023 onwards) with financial outlay of Rs.7210 crore.

In line with the vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji’s “Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwas”, eCourts Mission Mode Project is the prime mover for improving access to justice using technology. As part of the National eGovernance Plan, the e-Courts Project is under implementation since 2007 for ICT enablement of the Indian Judiciary the Phase II of which has concluded in 2023. Phase III of the e-Courts Project in India is rooted in philosophy of “access and inclusion”.

Taking the gains of Phase-I and Phase-II to the next level, the e-Courts Phase-III aims to usher in a regime of maximum ease of justice by moving towards digital, online and paperless courts through digitization of the entire court records including legacy records and by bringing in universalization of e-Filing/ e-Payments through saturation of all court complexes with e-Sewa Kendras. It will put in place intelligent smart systems enabling data-based decision making for judges and registries while scheduling or prioritizing cases. The main objective of the Phase-III is to create a unified technology platform for the judiciary, which will provide a seamless and paperless interface between the courts, the litigants and other stakeholders.

The Centrally Sponsored Scheme of eCourts Phase III is being implemented under the joint partnership of Department of Justice, Ministry of Law & Justice, Government of India and eCommittee, Supreme Court of India, in a decentralized manner through the respective High Courts to develop a judicial system that would promote ease of justice by making the system more accessible, affordable, reliable, predictable, and transparent for all stakeholders.

Components of eCourts Phase III are as follows:

The expected outcomes of the scheme are as follows:

• Citizens who do not have access to technology can access the judicial services from eSewa Kendras, thus bridging the digital divide.
• Digitization of court records lays the foundation for all other digital services in the project. It enables processes to become more environmental friendly by minimizing paper-based filings and reducing the physical movement of documents.
• Virtual participation in the court proceedings thus reducing costs associated with court proceedings, such as travel expenses for witnesses, judges, and other stakeholders.
• Payment of court fees, fines and penalties from anywhere, anytime.
• Expansion of eFiling for reducing the time and effort required to file documents. Thereby minimizing human errors as documents are automatically checked and also prevent further creation of paper based records.
• Use of latest technologies like Al and its subsets Machine Learning (ML), Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Natural Language Processing (NLP) to provide a smoother user experience by building a “smart” ecosystem. Registries will have less data entry and minimal file scrutiny facilitating better decision-making and policy planning. It envisages smart scheduling, intelligent system that enables data-based decision making for judges and registries, allows for greater predictability and optimisation of the capacity of judges and lawyers.
• Expansion of virtual courts beyond the adjudication of traffic violation cases, thereby eliminating the presence of litigant or lawyer in the court.
• Enhanced accuracy and transparency in court proceedings
• Emphasis on automated delivery of court summons by further expanding the NSTEP (National Serving and Tracking of Electronic Processes), hence drastically reducing the delays in trials.
• Use of emerging technologies in court processes will make them more efficient and effective, hence contributing significantly towards the reduction of pendency cases.

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