Union Cabinet Approves E-Courts Phase III For 4 Years With Budget Of Rs.7210 Crore

The Union Cabinet today approved the e-Courts Project Phase III as a Central Sector Scheme spanning four years (2023 onwards) with financial outlay of Rs.7210 crore, stated the Union Ministry of Law and Justice in a post in X(formerly Twitter).

"With the Cabinet approval of eCourts Project Phase III, we are ushering in a new era of justice delivery in India. Integrating advanced technology will make our judicial system more accessible and transparent", said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in X. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal also posted in X about this development.

According to a press release by the Press Information Bureau, 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.