E-COURTS MISSION MODE PROJECT (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Polity)
Context: The eCourts Mission Mode Project is a national eGovernance project for ICT enablement of district/subordinate courts of the country with a view to facilitate faster disposal of cases by speeding up court processes and providing transparent on-line flow of information on case status, orders/judgments etc.
About eCourts Mission Mode Project:
- About: It was conceptualized on the basis of the “National Policy and Action Plan for Implementation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the Indian Judiciary – 2005” submitted by eCommittee, Supreme Court of India .
oIt is a centrally sponsored scheme that is part of the National e-Governance Plan.
oA Pan-India Project, it is monitored and funded by Department of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India.
oThe project is aimed at providing the necessary hardware and software application to enable courts to deliver e-services
- The project envisages
oTo provide efficient & time-bound citizen centric services delivery as detailed in eCourt Project Litigant’s Charter.
oTo develop, install & implement decision support systems in courts.
oTo automate the processes to provide transparency in accessibility of information to its stakeholders.
oTo enhance judicial productivity, both qualitatively & quantitatively, to make the justice delivery system affordable, accessible, cost effective, predictable, reliable and transparent.
- Three phases:
oPhase-I : In Phase-I of the eCourts Project beginning from 2007, a large number of Court Complexes, Computer Server Rooms and Judicial Service Centres were readied for computerization of the District Courts.
oPhase II: It saw a major technological upgrade in courts during the Covid crisis. The National Judicial Data Grid, a repository of over 23-crore cases from district courts to SC level was part of the Phase II.
oPhase III: It aims to usher in a regime of maximum ease of justice by moving towards digital, online and paperless courts through digitisation of the entire court records, including legacy records.
