Phase III of eCourts on the fast track

TOWARDS TIMELY, FAIR, AND ACCESSIBLE JUSTICE

- JYOTSNA BHATNAGAR

QUIETLY AND UNOBTRUSIVELY, the judicial services in the country are creating milestones on their journey towards fulfilment of the government’s ambitious =7,210-crore Phase III of the eCourts project. Last week, the Delhi High Court (HC) launched its mobile app, which allows access to its various services and data on a mobile phone along with a host of other initiatives including a dedicated portal for judicial officers, an eOffice pilot project and the onboarding of MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) appellate tribunal/juvenile justice boards on the eCourts system.

On the scale of larger implementation parameters, the Allahabad and Bombay HCs are leading in terms of reaching many subordinate courts under the Phase III infrastructure.The HCs of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat are also doing well, but slightly behind the top two, in raw numbers.

Says Justice (retired) DY Chandrachud, former Chief ]Justice of India who is credited with giving a strong impetus to execution of the project on ground, “Each step towards digitisation is also a step towards greater transparency. It replaces the colonial model where citizens had to go in search of justice with a model where justice related services are delivered to the doorsteps of citizens.”

Extolling the numerous benefits of the project, Justice (retired) Chandrachud adds,