Key Details
The e-Courts Mission Mode Project, launched in 2007, is now in Phase III (2023–2027). With an outlay of ₹7,210 crore, this phase seeks to develop paperless courts, expand digital access and connect different parts of the justice system.
Feature | Progress Reported | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
Electronic filing | More than 1.25 crore cases e-filed; implementation across 4,519 courts | Reduces the need to visit courts merely to submit documents |
Remote hearings | Over 4.18 crore hearings conducted through video conferencing; facilities available at 7,553 establishments | Enables lawyers, litigants, witnesses and prisoners to participate remotely |
Digitised records | More than 753 crore pages digitised, according to the PIB release | Improves preservation, retrieval and searchability of older records |
Assisted digital access | 49 e-Sewa Kendras at High Courts and 2,535 at District Courts as of 30 June 2026 | Helps people use e-filing, e-payments and other digital court services |
Case information | e-Courts portal receives about 35 lakh daily visits; mobile app has 3.84 crore downloads | Makes case status, orders and hearing information easier to obtain |
Electronic payments | ₹1,404 crore collected in court fees and ₹75 crore in fines | Allows court-related payments without physical visits |
Virtual traffic courts | 31 Virtual Courts received 11.33 crore traffic challans worth ₹1,135.79 crore | Enables specified minor matters to be processed online |
Connected criminal justice | All High Courts have implemented the Inter-operable Criminal Justice System | Supports electronic exchange of information among courts, police, prisons, prosecution and forensic laboratories |
AI initiatives | ₹53.57 crore earmarked for AI and machine learning under Phase III | Supports transcription, translation, document scrutiny and legal research |
Digital Services Now Span the Entire Court Process
Under e-Courts Phase III, digital services now extend well beyond court computerisation. Litigants and lawyers can file cases online, pay court fees, track proceedings, receive case updates and participate in virtual hearings through integrated digital platforms.
The National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) further strengthens judicial administration by providing real-time information on case pendency, disposals, case stages and reasons for delay, enabling more evidence-based court management.
Technology Is Connecting the Criminal Justice Chain
The digital transition increasingly extends beyond courts. The Inter-operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) is intended to enable electronic movement of FIRs, charge sheets, orders and reports among courts, police, prisons, prosecutors and forensic laboratories.
Supporting platforms perform more specialised functions:
NSTEP enables GPS-tracked service of summons and notices;
e-Sakshya supports the capture and management of digital evidence;
Nyaya Shruti facilitates remote testimony and appearances;
e-Prison connects prison and prisoner-management systems;
e-Forensic digitises workflows within forensic laboratories; and
ITSSO tracks investigation timelines in sexual-offence cases.
This integration can reduce repeated data entry and physical transfer of documents. Its effectiveness, however, depends on data quality, secure access and consistent adoption across institutions and States.
Digital Justice Also Requires Inclusive Access
Recognising that many litigants remain outside the digital mainstream, e-Sewa Kendras provide assisted access to online court services, including e-filing, payments, certified copies, case information, video hearings and legal-aid support.
The initiative reflects the principle that digitisation should improve access to justice without excluding users who lack digital skills or connectivity.
AI Tools Enter Testing and Early Deployment
Phase III includes AI-assisted transcription, translation, legal research and document processing. Pilot initiatives include:
transcription of oral arguments in Constitution Bench cases;
LegRAA for legal research and document analysis;
ASR-SHRUTI for voice-to-text conversion;
PANINI for translation;
automated identification of defects in e-filed petitions; and
translation of judgments into 18 Indian languages.
These tools are intended to assist judges and court staff rather than replace judicial decision-making. Their adoption will require accuracy testing, human review, protection of confidential information and clear accountability where automated outputs contain errors.
What Is a Virtual Court?
A Virtual Court is not simply a regular court conducting a hearing by video. It is a digital adjudication system through which specified cases — currently used principally for traffic challans — can be processed and resolved online without the parties appearing before a judge in a physical courtroom.
Policy Relevance
Access must be measured beyond infrastructure: Court connectivity, app downloads and digitised pages show scale, but outcomes should also track filing failures, user costs, time saved and access among rural, low-income and differently abled litigants.
Digitisation can improve administration without automatically reducing pendency: Faster filing and retrieval must be accompanied by adequate judges, court staff, case management and procedural reform.
Assisted access remains essential: e-Sewa Kendras provide an important bridge for litigants who cannot independently navigate digital court platforms.
Interoperability can reduce procedural delays: Electronic exchange among courts, police, prisons, prosecution and forensic agencies can shorten document movement, provided systems and data standards work consistently across jurisdictions.
AI requires judicial safeguards: Translation, transcription and document-screening tools should be independently tested, reviewable by humans and governed by clear privacy and accountability standards.
Public reporting should distinguish capacity from use: Courts equipped for paperless or virtual operations should be reported separately from courts where those systems are routinely used and producing measurable improvements.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: How should Phase III measure whether digital infrastructure is reducing the time, cost and procedural burden faced by litigants and not merely increasing the number of connected courts and online transactions?
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