Rs 7,000 cr allotted for third phase of e-court project

Hyderabad: The Union Budget 2023 allocated Rs 7,000 crore for launching the third phase of the e-court project, which aims to digitise the judiciary and deliver online services to stakeholders.

Conceptualised in 2005 as part of the national policy and action plan for implementation of information and communication technology, the first phase of the project started in 2007 to digitise the 15,000-odd courts in approximately 2,500 court complexes across the country.

On August 7, 2013, the e-court national portal — ecourts.gov.in — was launched and all developments, including video conferences, e-filings, virtual courts, livestreams, case status and judgments, have been archived.

During the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, all courts conducted virtual hearings with the e-court project proving of major use.

Recently, most High Courts were asked to livestream court proceedings, with some also having done so. However, there is a lacuna in the digitisation of cases and judgments of district courts and other judicial establishments, due to a lack of skilled staff to update records.

The Budget allocation is likely to help speed up the process.

Among the achievements of the e-court project is the Digital India Award 2022 in ‘the silver category for digital empowerment of citizens, conferred by the President of India under the patronage of the IT ministry.