Parliament Question: Information and Communication Technology in Courts

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 306 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 13TH MARCH, 2026 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN COURTS †*306. SHRI AJAY BHATT: Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state: (a) the status of incorporation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Courts in the country; (b) whether e-filing has been started in all the courts in the country; (c) if so, the court-wise details including High Court of Uttarakhand and the present status thereof along with the number of cases registered through the said e-filing method; and (d) the steps taken or being taken by the Government to create awareness about the e-filing process across the country? 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) to (d): A statement is laid on the Table of the House. *** 1STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) IN RESPECT OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 306 FOR REPLY ON 13.03.2026 REGARDING ‘INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN COURTS’ (a): The e-Courts Mission Mode Project is being implemented in a phased manner across the country with the objective of strengthening the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the judicial system. The project has introduced various measures such as video conferencing, virtual courts, e-filing, e-payments, digitisation of court records, upgraded case management systems and monitoring through the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG). Some key initiatives under the eCourts Project as on 31.01.2026 are as under: (i) Over 660.36 crore pages of court records including legacy records have been digitized across Courts to ensure faster retrieval, secure storage and seamless digital workflows. (ii) 30 Virtual Courts have been established to enable online adjudication of traffic challans. Virtual Courts have received 10.13 crore challans, and challans amounting to Rs. 1002.73 crore were paid. (iii) Video Conferencing Rules have been implemented in all the High Courts and District Courts. (iv) Video Conferencing (VC) facilities have been expanded across 3,240 court complexes and 1,272 jails. Courts have conducted over 3.97 crore hearings through video conferencing, facilitating remote hearings of undertrials, witnesses and lawyers. (v) Live streaming of court proceedings is operational in 11 High Courts. (vi) E-filing and e-payments systems have been implemented to allow online filing of cases and digital payment of court fees and fines. Approximately 1.07 crore cases have been filed through the e-filing platform and the e-payments system has processed transactions for court-fee worth Rs. 1,404 crore and fine worth Rs. 75 crore. (vii) NJDG provides public access to case data, statistics of courts across the country and has been upgraded with an improved dashboard, functioning as a monitoring tool, to identify, manage & reduce pendency of cases. (viii) CIS 4.0 has been implemented in all courts, with enhanced usability, privacy safeguards and integration with national platforms such as NJDG, e-filing, virtual courts and ICJS. (ix) The S3WaaS platform hosts 730 District Court websites, ensuring secure and accessible web infrastructure. (x) Real-time digital services have expanded significantly, with case updates being sent to lawyers and litigants through SMS Push and Pull (over 4 lakh SMS sent daily), email 2(over 6 lakh sent daily) and the multilingual e-Courts services portal (with 35 lakh hits daily). (xi) The e-Courts Services mobile app (3.59 crore downloads) provides the lawyers and litigants relevant information about case status, cause lists etc. (xii) The JustIS app (22,133 downloads) is a management tool for the judges assisting them to effectively organise and monitor their judicial business. (xiii) 48 e-Sewa Kendras are functional across all High Courts and 2,396 e-Sewa Kendras across District Courts. (xiv) The National Service and Tracking of Electronics Processes (NSTEP) system has been implemented for electronic service and tracking of summons and notices using mobile- based and GPS-enabled delivery mechanisms. Under NSTEP, the courts have processed 7.29 crore e-processes. (xv) Digital Courts 2.1 is a customized application for paperless Courts with facility of translation and transcription using AI. It enables judges to access all case related documents, pleadings, and evidence digitally, marking a significant leap toward a paperless court ecosystem. (b) to (d): E-filing system is a complete end to end solution developed for electronic filing of legal documents. It enables litigants and lawyers to access and upload case-related documents from anywhere and at any time, thereby reducing the need to physically visit courts for filing such documents. Model Rules for e-Filing were formulated by the e-Committee of the Supreme Court of India to standardize the procedure for electronic filing of cases across all courts in the country. E-filing is operational in 25 High Courts and respective District Courts, including the High Court of Uttarakhand and all its District Courts. The High Court-wise number of cases e- filed till 31.01.2026 are at Annexure. Under the eCourts project, awareness about the e-filing process is being created through training programmes and capacity-building workshops for court staff and advocates, user manuals on the eCourts services portal and e-filing portal, eSewa Kendras set up in Court complexes and outreach initiatives across the country. *** 3Annexure STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.306 FOR REPLY ON 13.03.2026 REGARDING INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN COURTS Number of cases e-filed in High Courts and District Courts till 31.01.2026: S. Total Cases e-filed State Name No. High Court District Courts Total 1. Allahabad* - 12,531 12,531 2. Andhra Pradesh 23,736 44 23,780 3. Bombay 4,05,326 25,87,820 29,93,146 4. Calcutta 12,265 2,621 14,886 5. Chhattisgarh 894 3,363 4,257 6. Delhi* - 16,63,101 16,63,101 7. Gauhati – Arunachal Pradesh 0 0 0 8. Gauhati – Assam 40,764 50,098 90,862 9. Gauhati – Mizoram 0 0 0 10. Gauhati - Nagaland 0 0 0 11. Gujarat 64,650 10,303 74,953 12. Himachal Pradesh 3,655 1,09,090 1,12,745 13. Jammu & Kashmir 29,942 2,11,933 2,41,875 14. Jharkhand 70 1,375 1,445 15. Karnataka 10,360 4,15,537 4,25,897 16. Kerala* - 10,93,024 10,93,024 17. Madhya Pradesh* - 18,045 18,045 18. Madras 1,44,535 22,86,703 24,31,238 19. Manipur 7,546 30,146 37,692 20. Meghalaya 39 1 40 21. Odisha 34,988 78,437 1,13,425 22. Patna 7,32,678 57,660 7,90,338 23. Punjab & Haryana 1,22,131 1,51,344 2,73,475 24. Rajasthan 1,36,084 5,918 1,42,002 25. Sikkim 3,896 6,742 10,638 26. Telangana 10,528 52,753 63,281 27. Tripura 4,472 36,109 40,581 28. Uttarakhand 341 1,01,854 1,02,195 Total 17,88,900 89,86,552 1,07,75,452 (Source: eCommittee, SCI) Note: *Allahabad, Delhi, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh are using their own e-filing application for respective High Courts. 4