The Union Cabinet on September 13 approved the third phase of the eCourts Project with a financial outlay of ₹7,210 crore to upgrade digital infrastructure of the lower judiciary.
“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,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter).
As a Central scheme that will be implemented over four years, Phase 3 of the project will see the digitisation of entire court records, both legacy and pending cases, at an estimated cost of ₹2,038.40 crore. A total of 3,108 crore documents will be digitised.
Briefing media after the Cabinet meeting, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said the eCourts Mission Mode Project is the prime mover for improving access to justice using technology in line with the “Prime Minister’s vision of Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwas”.
As part of Phase 3, the system will be migrated to cloud technology and the cost estimated for providing 25 petabytes (according to existing requirements) of cloud storage is ₹1,205.20 crore.
A tripartite agreement will be signed between State governments, the Centre and the 25 High Courts under which maintenance, upkeep, and replacement of equipment will be the responsibility of respective States while the funds and the required hardware will be provided by the Centre, Mr. Thakur said.
The third phase is aimed at ushering in a regime of maximum ease of justice by moving towards digital, online, and paperless courts through digitisation of the entire court records, including legacy records, and by bringing in universalisation of e-filing and e-payments through saturation of all court complexes with e-Sewa Kendras, the Union Minister added.
The project also seeks to establish and expand the scope of virtual courts for hearing of cases by creating a robust digital infrastructure. The sources said ₹413.08 crore is the cost estimate for establishment of 1,150 virtual courts.
The project involves integration of duty holders such as courts, jails, police stations, and forensic laboratories with the Inter Operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS). The cost estimate for successful implementation of the ICJS is ₹11.7 crore, official sources said.
As part of the National eGovernance Plan, the eCourts Project is under implementation since 2007 for ICT (information and communication technology) enablement of the Indian judiciary.
Phase-2 of the project was concluded recently.
The new project will put in place intelligent smart systems enabling data-based decision-making for judges and registries while scheduling or prioritising cases.
The main objective of Phase-3 of the project is to create a unified technology platform for the judiciary which will provide a seamless and paperless interface between courts, litigants, and other stakeholders.
The judicial processes will also become more environment-friendly by minimising paper-based filings and reducing the physical movement of documents.
Citizens who do not have access to technology can access judicial services from eSewa Kendras, thus bridging the digital divide, the government said.
