4/20/2021 Soon, e-courts may let cases be filed 24/7 - The Times Of India - Mumbai, 4/14/2021

Soon, e-courts may let cases be filed 24/7

Pradeep.Thakur@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:

Limiting the registry’s role in prioritising cases, Phase 3 of the e-Courts project, currently in the draft
stage, has proposed a 24/7 digital window to litigants and lawyers to file cases from anywhere, anytime
with the provision of scheduling digital hearings in an open court, ensuring compliance of timelines by
both judges and litigants.

Use of artificial intelligence has been proposed to “intelligently recommend schedules for hearing by
optimising and coordinating the schedules and time of different actors (judges, lawyers and litigants)”, the
draft proposal put up on the website of the justice department seeking stakeholders’ suggestions said.

The Centre’s ambitious e-Courts project, initiated in 2005, has completed two phases so far. At a cost of
Rs 2,300 crore, it has computerised almost all 19,000 functional district and subordinate courts with
broadband connectivity and equipped judges and courtrooms with modern communication gadgets. The
Supreme Court e-Committee is responsible for policy planning and strategic direction.

The next phase of judicial reforms envisages a complete transformation of Indian courts into digital
platforms — having facilities of e-Pay, e-Summons, e-Hearings and e-Judgment — where litigants can
appear remotely, schedule hearings at his/her convenience and an option of choosing alternative dispute
resolution mechanism or a regular case while e-Filing.

It has proposed an interoperable criminal justice system where connectivity between courts, prison and
police will be leveraged to ensure speedy trial of cases and limiting adjournments on account of non-
appearance of witnesses or unavailability of lawyers. The digital court will provide for a data exchange
protocol embedded with a privacy policy. During the second phase of the e-Courts project, more than
3,400 courts were made videoconference compatible, providing connectivity with prisons. These facilities
are already available in the Supreme Court and HCs.

Phase 3 also proposes transcription of court proceedings from audio/video format to typed digital record
that can be made available to litigants and lawyers after the end of hearings. “Live streaming or sharing
recorded court proceedings can enable courts to become more open,” the draft proposal said.

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