Police, Courts and Justice in India
E-Courts and Digital Justice
How the e-Courts project digitised case records, enabled virtual hearings and live-streaming, and how technology can speed up justice.
The e-Courts project has brought technology to Indian courts.
Phases
- Phase I (from 2007) and Phase II computerised courts and case records.
- Phase III, approved in 2023 with around 7,210 crore rupees, aims for paperless courts and digitised records.
What’s available
- National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG): shows pending cases court by court, improving transparency.
- E-filing of cases.
- Virtual hearings, which expanded rapidly during COVID-19.
- Live-streaming of Supreme Court constitution bench hearings from 2022.
- SMS updates to litigants.
Benefits
- Less travel and adjournment waste.
- Transparency about delays.
- Data to manage court workloads.
AI tools
The Supreme Court uses AI-assisted tools like SUVAS to translate judgments into Indian languages.
Limits
- Digital divide for litigants and lawyers.
- Technology doesn’t fix judge shortages.
The virtual hearing
A litigant in a remote town attends a hearing by video from a nearby legal aid centre, saving a full day's travel to the district court.
Thinking technology alone will clear backlogs
It helps efficiency, but judge numbers and procedures matter too.
Key takeaways
- e-Courts digitised case records and filing.
- NJDG makes pending cases transparent.
- Virtual hearings and live-streaming expanded access.
- Technology can't replace adequate judge numbers.
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