Number of computerised district courts raised to 18,735: Kiren Rijiju

Under the e-Courts project, the number of computerised district and subordinate courts has increased to 18,735 so far and WAN connectivity has been provided to 99.3 per cent of court complexes, the Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju has informed the Lok Sabha.

"The government has been implementing the e-Courts Mission Mode Project throughout the country for information and communication technology enablement of the district and subordinate courts. The fund released under e-Courts Project Phase I (2011-2015) is Rs 639.41 crores and under Phase II is Rs 1668.43 crores," he said.

The Minister further informed that all stakeholders, including judicial officers, can access information relating to judicial proceedings/decisions of computerised district and subordinate courts and high courts on the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG).

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As on December 01, 2022, litigants can access the case status of over 21.74 crore cases and 19.80 crore orders/judgments pertaining to these courts.

eCourts services such as details of case registration, cause list, case status, daily orders and final judgments are available to litigants and advocates through the eCourts web portal, Judicial Service Centers (JSC) in all computerised courts, the eCourts Mobile App, email service, and SMS push, and pull services, he said.

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The Minister further informed that a video conferencing facility has been enabled between 3,240 court complexes and 1,272 corresponding jails.

With a view to handling the Covid- 19 challenges better and making the transition to virtual hearings smoother, 619 e-Sewa Kendras have been set up at court complexes to facilitate lawyers and litigants needing assistance ranging from case status, getting judgments/orders, court/case-related information, and efiling facilities.

As many as 21 virtual courts have been set up in 17 States/UTs as on March 03, 2022, these courts have handled more than 1.69 crore cases and realised more than Rs 271.48 crore in fines, he said.