U.K. evinces interest in India’s e-courts project; delegation to meet top law ministry officials

The United Kingdom has evinced interest in the e-Courts project that seeks to digitise entire court records, and a delegation from that country would be in the national capital next week to interact with top Union law ministry officials.

The ambitious e-Courts project is currently in its third phase with an aim to upgrade the digital infrastructure of subordinate judiciary across the country.

Officials told PTI that a delegation from the United Kingdom will visit the Department of Justice here on November 6 and interact with top officials and members of the e-committee of the Supreme Court.

The e-committee is the governing body charged with overseeing the e-Courts Project conceptualised under the “National Policy and Action Plan for Implementation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the Indian Judiciary-2005”.

Under the ongoing phase three of the project, a total of 3,108 crore documents will be digitised.

As part of Phase-III, the system will be migrated to cloud technology, and the cost estimated for providing 25 petabytes (according to existing requirement) of cloud storage is ₹1,205.20 crore.

The project also seeks to establish and expand the scope of virtual courts for the hearing of cases by creating a robust digital infrastructure. A sum of ₹413.08 crore is the cost estimate for the establishment of 1,150 virtual courts.

Phase three of the project was cleared by the Union Cabinet in September 2023.

The project also involves integration of duty holders such as courts, jails, police stations and forensic laboratories with the Inter Operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS).

Digitisation of court records also enables processes to become more environment friendly by minimising paper-based filings and reducing the physical movement of documents. Besides, virtual participation in proceedings can reduce costs associated with court proceedings such as travel expenses for witnesses, judges, and other stakeholders, while payment of court fees, fines and penalties can be made from anywhere and anytime.