Parliament Question: Improving efficiency of judiciary

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2361 ANSWERED ON 12/03/2026 IMPROVING EFFICIENCY OF JUDICIARY 2361 # SHRI SANJAY KUMAR JHA: Will the Minister of Law and Justice be pleased to state: (a) whether Government has taken any new initiatives to improve the efficiency of judiciary and speedy disposal of cases: (b) whether the judicial process has been expedited and simplified through the digital justice system (e-courts) and if so, the details thereof; and (c) whether these efforts have increased the transparency and accessibility of the justice delivery system and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL) (a): Disposal of cases pending in various courts lies within the domain of the judiciary. No fixed time frame has been prescribed for disposal of various kinds of cases by the respective courts. Timely disposal of cases in courts depends on several factors which, inter-alia, include availability of adequate number of Judges and Judicial officers, supporting court staff and physical infrastructure, complexity of facts involved, nature of evidence, co-operation of stake holders viz bar, investigation agencies, witnesses, litigants and proper application of rules and procedures. However, the Government is fully committed for speedy disposal of cases and reducing pendency as mandated under Article 21 of the Constitution. The Government has taken several initiatives to provide an ecosystem for faster disposal of cases by the judiciary which, inter-alia, includes amalgamation of latest technologies for increasing access to justice and greater transparency under the e-Courts Mission Mode Project and supplementing of the resources of the State Governments/UTs for providing suitable infrastructure facilities for the District and Subordinate Judiciary under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary. 1(b) & (c): The Digital Justice System under the e-Courts Mission Mode Project has expedited and simplified judicial processes and has also improved transparency and accessibility in the justice delivery system. The details are as follows: Phase I, initiated in 2011 with an outlay of ₹935 crore, primarily focused on establishing the foundational digital infrastructure of the judiciary. It achieved computerization of 14,249 District and Subordinate Courts, installation of Local Area Network (LAN) in 13,683 courts, and software enablement of 13,672 courts for digital case management, video conferencing facilities in 493 courts and 347 jails. Building upon this groundwork, Phase II, implemented from 2015 to 2023 with an outlay of ₹1,670 crore, expanded the scope from basic computerization to providing citizen-centric digital services. The number of computerized courts rose to 18,735, representing a 31.5% increase over Phase I. Video conferencing facilities expanded more than fivefold, covering 3,240 courts (a 557% increase) and 1,272 jails (a 266% increase), reflecting the growing reliance on digital hearings. WAN connectivity reached 99.5% of court complexes, ensuring robust network access. This phase also saw the introduction of key platforms such as the Free and Open-Source Case Information System (CIS), the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) as a transparent online repository of case data, and the establishment of eSewaKendras to provide front-end facilitation services to citizens and lawyers. The Government has demonstrated its commitment in modernizing judiciary with advanced digital infrastructure by significantly increasing the budget of Phase III (2023–2027) to ₹7,210 crore. This phase envisions transforming Indian courts into Digital and Paperless Courts by digitizing legacy and current case records, expanding video conferencing to all courts, jails, and hospitals, and extending online courts beyond traffic violations. It also aims for universal saturation of eSewaKendras, creation of a state-of-the-art cloud-based data repository for storing digitized court records and applications, and deployment of emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for case analysis and forecasting. Currently, over 660.36 crore pages of court records have been digitized, and 2,444 eSewaKendras have been established to enhance citizen service delivery. Courts have conducted over 3.97 crore hearings through video conferencing facilities. Approximately 1.07 cr. cases have been filed electronically through the eFiling platform. Live streaming of court proceedings has expanded to four additional High Courts, Uttarakhand, Calcutta, Telangana, and Meghalaya, making it 11. All eCourts portals are now hosted on the NIC’s cloud infrastructure, and district court websites have been migrated to the Secure, Scalable, and Sugamya Website as a Service (S3WAAS) platform. Further, the Case Information System (CIS) has been upgraded to version 4.0, introducing enhanced objectivity, transparency, and speed in case management. Advanced AI-based tools are 2being integrated into judicial workflows, such as the AI/ML-enabled defect identification module developed by the Supreme Court in collaboration with IIT Madras, and the Legal Research and Analysis Assistant (LegRAA) developed by NIC’s Centre of Excellence under the guidance of the eCommittee. The Digital Courts platform enables judges to access all case-related documents, pleadings, and evidence digitally, marking a significant leap toward a paperless court ecosystem. ******* 3