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E-Courts and Technological Transformation
6.1 E-Courts Mission Mode Project — Three Phases
The Supreme Court's E-Committee (chaired by a Supreme Court judge) drives India's court computerisation under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP).
| Phase | Period | Budget | Key Achievements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase I | 2007–2015 | ₹442 crore | 14,249 district/subordinate courts computerised; WAN connectivity for 2,500+ courts |
| Phase II | 2015–2023 | ₹1,670 crore | National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG); Case Management System; e-Filing; Litigant SMS alerts; National Service & Tracking of Electronic Processes (NSTEP) |
| Phase III | 2023–2027 | ₹7,210 crore | Digital Courts, Virtual Hearings infrastructure, ICJS (Interoperable Criminal Justice System), AI for case management, paperless courts |
6.2 Key E-Court Infrastructure
National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG):
- Real-time data on cases filed, decided, and pending across all courts
- 18,735+ court establishments covered
- Citizens can track case status, dates, and judgments online
- As of 2025: ~4.4 crore cases pending in district courts visible on NJDG
eCourts Services App:
- Mobile app for litigants to access case status, orders, and cause lists
- Available in 14 Indian languages
- 1+ crore downloads
FASTER (Fast and Secured Transmission of Electronic Records):
- Enables SC to transmit bail orders, stay orders, and other time-sensitive orders to prisons and police digitally within minutes
- Launched by SC in 2021 following a Patna HC case where a man remained in jail 2 months after bail due to delay in communication
Virtual Courts:
- Introduced during COVID-19 (March 2020) by SC using video conferencing
- 24 designated virtual court units for traffic challans operational
- All major HCs have hybrid hearing infrastructure
- 24+ lakh cases heard via virtual/hybrid mode by 2025
ICJS (Interoperable Criminal Justice System):
- Links Police (CCTNS), Courts (eCourts), Prisons (ePrisons), Prosecution, and Forensic Labs
- Phase III e-Courts project priority — enables automatic information flow across the criminal justice chain