Regional Discussion Regarding the e-Courts Project

Chandigarh, April 6^th, 2016: A regional discussion regarding the e-Courts Project was held in the Chandigarh Judicial Academy on 02.04.2016. Hon’ble Mr. Justice Madan B. Lokur, Judge, Supreme Court of India & Incharge, e-committee Supreme Court of India presided over discussion and Hon’ble Judges of Computer Committees from four High Courts,   Hon’ble Mr. Justice Rajesh Bindal, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Arun Palli & Hon’ble Mr. Justice Amit Rawal from Punjab and Haryana High Court, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tashi Rabstan from Jammu & Kashmir High Court, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary & Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan  from Himachal Pradesh and Hon’ble Mr. Justice V.S. Siradhana from Rajasthan High Court, Ms. Kusumjit Sidhu, IAS, Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Justice and Mr. Atul Kaushik, Joint Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Justice, Central Project Coordinators, NIC Coordinators, Member Secretaries of E-Committee, Supreme Court of India, Secretaries (Finance) and Law Secretaries from the participating States have attended the same.

          E-Committee, Supreme Court of India in consultation with Central Government came up with computerization project “e-Courts Phase-I” having total outlay of Rs. 900 crores out of which Rs.700 crores were spent. It was explained by Hon’ble Judge Incharge, e-committee informed that purpose of Phase-I was to computerize Subordinate Courts in the country with aim to bring about transparency, accountability and speedy disposal of cases by sharing case information with the litigants and advocates. e-Courts Phase-I Project has culminated in National Judicial Data Grid whereupon as on date 2 crore 30 lacs pending cases and 2.70 crore decided cases are available.

Expansion in judiciary resulting in recruitment of new judicial officers, resulted in setting up of new Courts required expansion of computerization programme. e-Committee has extended e-Court programme to Phase-II with total budget outlay of 1670 crores out of which 200 crores have been released for the purchase of hardware in the year 2015-16.

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Madan B. Lokur discussed difficulties faced by participating High Courts in implementation of e-Courts Project as well as best practices evolved to solve these problems. Road map for Phase-II and need to expedite implementation of e-Courts Phase-II programme was also stressed upon.

Citizens Centric Services, implementation of solar energy in District and Subordinate Courts, implementation of improved version of Case Information System which shall further facilitate updation of National Judicial Data Grid and make information available to litigants and advocates at their will. Hon’ble Mr. Justice Madan B. Lokur also stressed upon implementation of e-Courts Project within given timelines. To facilitate expeditious decision of cases pertaining to senior citizens and crime against woman, categorization of cases done by Punjab and Haryana High Court, was discussed.

Each of participating High Court presented work done under e-Courts Phase I and Phase II, shared problems and best practices evolved and implemented by each High Court.
Demonstration of e-Filing module enabling the advocates and litigants to file cases online 24x7 as per their convenience from their home by paying Court fee online was also demonstrated by member Secretary e-committee. E-filing software is likely to be launched for general public in the month of August, 2016. Decimation of information regarding cases through SMS, e-mail services, display boards & KIOSK installed in the Courts was discussed and recommended to be implemented at all levels. Need to educate public about facilities available to them was stressed and it was agreed that wide publicity be given to citizen centric services to make public aware of their rights.

Demonstration of National Judicial Data Grid for better utilization and decimation of information was presented by e-Committee, Supreme Court of India. Each of the participating High Courts has showcased Litigants Centric Services which was being offered to public.

Hon’ble Rajasthan High Court in its presentation highlighted SMS services for advocates and litigants as well as reporting software thereby freeing Judicial Officers from administrative duties allowing them to concentrate more on judicial work. Hon’ble High Court for Himachal Pradesh apart from Citizens Centric Services such as SMS etc. highlighted mobile phone application whereby case information, live status of case, next date etc. would be available online on mobile phone.

Hon’ble Jammu and Kashmir High Court also emphasized use of SMS services for giving case information to litigants and advocates. Hon’ble Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir High Courts also highlighted peculiar difficulties faced by them, on account of terrain and funding issues from State Govts.

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Rajesh Bindal, Chairman, Computer Committee presented various Citizens Centric Services initiated by Hon’ble Punjab and Haryana High Court. It was informed that all the decided cases lying in the record room of Hon’ble Punjab and Haryana High Court have been digitalized. This digitalization exercise resulted in scanning of 15.90 crores pages along with disposal of 225 tones of waste papers generating revenue of Rs. 22, 00,000/- from sale of said waste papers and more importantly freeing valuable space of 15,000 square feet.

22,69,397 SMS from High Court, 26,66,377 SMS from Subordinate Courts informing advocates regarding case information brought about transparency & has further saved cost for the litigants who for merely knowing date used to travel long distances. Availability of Indian Law Reports software free of cost with true printouts since its inception since 1948 for the benefit of public was also informed.

Presentation about video conferencing set-up used extensively showed that presence of 130546 under trials in Court for remand and trial was secured through video conferencing. It was further highlighted that as many as 2964 doctors were examined and their evidence was recorded through video conferencing, thereby, saving not only Rs. 3,08,25,600/- but also making 2964 doctors man days available for the service of mankind. The cost paid by State for deploying manpower to escort under trials, transportation and availability of officials for law and order duties had saved crores of rupees to State Exchequer. The utility of video conferencing for other administrative purposes was also highlighted.

The consumption of papers in Court work was curtailed to save environment by circulating all notifications, circulations and judgments of High Court as well as of Supreme Court, by circulating transfer and posting orders by e-mail, by circulating agenda of meetings and various administrative committees of High Court in soft format through e-mail.

Merely by stopping use of paper for Agenda and meetings of Administrative Committees of High Court, 12, 26,255 pages were saved resulting in saving of 6 tons of wood. Digital notices through e-mail, uploading of stay orders on Internet with link of such orders for the concerned party & circulation of digitally signed bail orders have further saved lacs of pages, thereby saving environment and also expediting the information sharing process.

e-Filing and e-Diary softwares prepared by Hon’ble Punjab and Haryana High Court for convenience of litigants and advocates to file cases online from the comfort of their home was also demonstrated. The unique features of e-Diary, whereby an advocate can save his case and browse the case information in real time along with judgment and orders passed by Courts have brought transparency.

Digitalization of Court records have further allowed sharing of soft files with Advocate General Office, Union of India counsels and other departments, thereby enhancing quality of assistance offered by Government counsels.

Filing of application and issuance of certified copies has always been an issue for public harassment. Digitalization of all Court records has brought about transparency and speed in issuance of certified copies. File movement for issuance of certified copies is thing of past as digitally signed records are available to the copying branch, thereby allowing issuance even within few months from uploading of orders by the Courts.

Inspection branch working also got revolutionized with availability of scanned records as file movement has been eliminated and entire file is available on computer itself without wasting time of the litigant to inspect the file. These efforts to streamline copying branch and inspection branch are supplemented by SMS services regarding receipt of application, preparation and delivery of copies as well as receipt of soft copies of case files for inspection.

The display boards installed inside, outside and in the Court premises as well as touch screen KIOSKs has acted as force multipliers in decimation of information to general public, advocates and paralegal staff. Seeing the success of these modules, Hon’ble Chairman announced that online inspection module as well as online copying application for allowing litigants and advocates to inspect and avail certified copies online by sitting at their homes will be made available to public.    

The unique software named MedLeaPR prepared for updation of Medico Legal Reports as well as Post mortem reports was also showcased with e-Challan online payment software allowing general public to pay their fines for traffic challans from their homes, thereby reducing footfalls in the Courts bringing transparency and convenience to the public. Availability of 6,69,670 final orders, 14,85,218 interim orders on the website of High Court was also showcased which in turn has made public aware about their rights.

During discussion, it was also decided that since the entire e-Courts Project is for the benefit of public, therefore, it be widely publicized informing public about availability of various services for exercising their rights.

Implementation of solar technology which is not only environment friendly but also cost effective in long run as its cost is recoverable within 5 to 7 years with service life of 25 years was discussed. Hon’ble Mr. Justice Madan B. Lokur, Judge, In-charge, E-Committee, Supreme Court of India emphasized that immediately 10% of Court complexes be used to generate solar power and this project be expanded to all court complexes in association with State Governments in the national interest.

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Madan B. Lokur had also emphasized that High Court and State Government should work in corroborating manner as e-Courts Project not only makes Court work convenient for general public but also saves crores of rupees from State Exchequer. Liberal funding of e-Court Projects was stated to be in the interest of State, Judiciary and people of India.