NewKerala.com

Key Points

India has digitized over 500 crore court documents under the ambitious e-Courts Phase III initiative. The Rs 7,210 crore project introduces paperless courts and virtual hearing facilities across 21 states. Citizens can now access 1,814 e-service centers and specialized portals for judgment searches. The infrastructure boost includes 41% more court halls since 2014 to reduce case backlogs.

Key Points: Over 500 crore court pages digitized under e-Courts Phase III

  • 521 crore judicial pages digitized across High and District Courts
  • Rs 7,210 crore allocated for e-Courts Phase III modernization
  • 29 Virtual Courts operational for traffic offenses nationwide
  • 1814 eSewa Kendras established for citizen legal services
3 min read

Over 500 crore pages in HC, District Courts digitised: MoS Arjun Ram Meghwal

Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal reveals 521 crore judicial documents digitized under e-Courts Project with Rs 7,210 crore funding

"Phase-III focuses on digitizing services for lawyers, litigants and judges - Arjun Ram Meghwal"

New Delhi, Aug 1

Under the e-Courts Project Phase III, 213.29 crore pages in the High Courts and 307.89 crore pages in the District Courts have been digitised till June 30, 2025, the Lok Sabha was informed on Friday.

Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, in a written reply, said that the e-Courts project is being implemented as an integrated Mission Mode Project since 2007 for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development of the Indian Judiciary as part of the National e-Governance Plan.

Phase III of the e-Courts Project (for the period from 2023 to 2027) was approved in September 2023 with an outlay of Rs 7,210 crore, he said.

Under Phase-III, several steps have been taken to improve the court management processes and digitise the services for the various stakeholders, including lawyers, litigants and judges.

One of the components of the e-Courts Project Phase III is the scanning, digitisation and digital preservation of case records, for which an amount of Rs 2,038.40 crore has been earmarked.

A software has been developed for the preservation of judicial records of High Courts and District Courts. Further, Digital Courts 2.1 software has been developed to aid courts in functioning in a paperless mode.

The e-Filing system (version 3.0) has been rolled out with upgraded features for lawyers to access and upload documents related to the cases from any location. In addition, the e-Payment system has been launched for hassle-free transfer of fees.

Also, the National Service and Tracking of Electronic Processes (NSTEP) is a significant step towards technology-enabled process serving and issuing of summons.

Besides, a Judgment Search portal has been started with features such as search by Bench, Case Type, Case Number, Year and Petitioner/Respondent Name.

This facility is being provided free of cost to all. In order to facilitate easy and hassle-free access to citizen-centric services, 1814 eSewa Kendras (Facilitation Centres) have been established across the country. In addition, 29 Virtual Courts are functioning across 21 States/UTs for trying traffic-related offences.

The MoS said the Department of Justice has been implementing the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for the judiciary since 1993-94 to augment the resources of the State Governments in a prescribed fund sharing pattern.

There are five components under the Scheme, namely court halls, residential quarters, lawyers’ halls, digital computer rooms and toilet complexes.

A sum of Rs 12,101.89 crore has been released under the scheme since its inception, out of which Rs 8,657.59 crore (71.54 per cent) has been released since 2014-15.

From 15,818 court halls and 10,211 residential units in the year 2014, the number of available court halls and residential units has increased to 22,372 (41.43 per cent increase) and 19,851 (94.40 per cent increase), respectively.

- IANS

Share this article:

Reader Comments

P
Priya N
While this is impressive, I hope they've considered cybersecurity measures. With so much sensitive data going digital, we can't afford any breaches. The government must ensure robust protection systems are in place.
A
Aditya G
Great initiative! But will this actually reach small towns and villages? Often such projects remain limited to urban areas. The eSewa Kendras are a good step - hope they're properly staffed and maintained.
S
Sarah B
As someone who recently went through a court case, I can say the e-filing system has been a game changer. No more standing in queues for hours! Though the interface could be more user-friendly for non-tech savvy people.
K
Karthik V
₹7,210 crore is a huge amount! Hope there's proper accountability and we don't see another project where funds are misused. The government should publish regular progress reports with actual impact metrics.
M
Meera T
The virtual courts for traffic offenses are working well in my city. Reduced corruption and faster resolution. Now if only they could expand this model to other petty crimes too! 👍
N
Nikhil C
Good progress, but what about training for judges and staff? Digital systems are only as good as the people using them. Many older judges might struggle with new technology - proper training programs are essential.

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.

Leave a Comment

Minimum 50 characters 0/50