New Delhi, September 13: The union cabinet authorised the third phase of the eCourts project on Wednesday. The initiative would cost Rs 7,210 crore over the next four years, beginning in 2023.
Anurag Thakur, minister of information and broadcasting, told reporters following the cabinet meeting that the eCourts mission mode initiative is the main driver for enhancing access to justice via technology.
The department of justice of the union law ministry oversees and finances the pan-Indian eCourts mission mode initiative.
According to the litigant’s charter for the eCourt initiative, it seeks to offer citizen-centric services effectively and on schedule.
Additionally, it intends to create, set up, and use decision support systems in courts.
The plan also automates the procedures to ensure stakeholders have clear access to information.
By transitioning to digital, online, and paperless courts through the digitization of all court records, including legacy records, and by introducing universal e-filing and e-payments through the saturation of all court complexes with e-Sewa Kendras, the third phase of the e-Courts aims to usher in a regime of maximum ease of justice.
It will use sophisticated smart tools that allow courts and registries to make data-based decisions when scheduling or prioritising cases.
According to official sources, the key goal of the third phase is to develop a single technological platform for the judiciary that would provide a smooth and paperless interface between the courts, the litigants, and other stakeholders.
A significant number of court complexes, computer server rooms, and judicial service centres were prepared for the district courts’ computerization under its first phase in 2007.
In order to provide basic case-related services to litigants and solicitors, the district and taluka court complexes included by the first phase were computerised with the installation of hardware, LAN, and Case Information Software (CIS).
The uncovered courts from the first phase and the newly formed courts had (2+6) systems per court room, and the court complexes had hardware, LAN, etc. provided in the second phase of the project. This phase also saw the covered courts get additional hardware with (1+3) systems per court room.
