Executive Summary:
The Department of Justice has been implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) since 1993-94 to develop infrastructure for the judiciary. As of June 30, 2025, significant progress has been made, including increased court halls and residential units. Phase III of the eCourts Project, approved in September 2023, aims to further enhance the Indian Judiciary's ICT infrastructure.
Key Points / Main Content:
Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for Judiciary Infrastructure:
• Implemented since 1993-94 to augment State resources for judiciary infrastructure.
• Five components: court halls, residential quarters, lawyers halls, digital computer rooms, and toilet complexes.
• Rs. 12,101.89 crore released since inception, with Rs. 8,657.59 crore released since 2014-15.
• Increased availability of court halls from 15,818 in 2014 to 22,372 and residential units from 10,211 to 19,851.
• 3,128 court halls and 2,772 residential units are under construction.
• Financial assistance to Maharashtra: Rs 1,099.83 crore since inception, with Rs. 700.17 crore since 2014-15; Rs. 28.06 crore earmarked for the current financial year.
• Maharashtra currently has 2503 court halls and 2202 residential units, with 560 court halls and 144 residential units under construction.
eCourts Project Phase III:
• Approved in September 2023 with an outlay of Rs. 7,210 crore for the period 2023-2027.
• Aims to improve court management processes and digitize services for stakeholders.
• Rs. 2038.40 crore earmarked for scanning, digitization, and digital preservation of case records.
• 213.29 crore pages digitized in High Courts and 307.89 crore pages in District Courts as of 30.06.2025.
• Developed software for preservation of judicial records and Digital Courts 2.1 for paperless mode.
• eFiling system version 3.0 rolled out with upgraded features; ePayment system launched.
• National Service and Tracking of Electronic Processes (NSTEP) implemented.
• Judgment Search portal started, providing free access to search by various criteria.
• 1814 eSewa Kendras established across the country.
• 29 Virtual Courts functioning across 21 States/UTs for traffic offences.
Impact Analysis:
State Governments/UTs:
• Impact: Augmentation of resources for developing infrastructure facilities for the judiciary.
• Action Required: Utilize the central assistance to construct court halls, residential quarters, and improve digital infrastructure.
Judicial Officers:
• Impact: Improved availability of court halls and residential units, enhancing working conditions.
• Action Required: Utilize the new and improved infrastructure to enhance judicial processes.
Lawyers and Litigants:
• Impact: Access to digitized case records, eFiling, ePayment, and judgment search portal, improving convenience and efficiency.
• Action Required: Utilize the e-services and facilities to streamline case management and access relevant information.
eCommittee, Supreme Court of India:
• Impact: Overseeing the digitization of court records and development of related software.
• Action Required: Continue to provide guidance and support for the implementation of the eCourts Project Phase III.
Key Entities Referenced
Centrally Sponsored Scheme CSS: A scheme for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for the Judiciary, implemented by the Department of Justice since 1993-94.
Department of Justice: The department implementing the Centrally Sponsored Scheme CSS for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for the Judiciary.
Maharashtra: A state in India that has received financial assistance under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for developing infrastructure for the judiciary.
eCourts project: An integrated Mission Mode Project for the Information and Communication Technology ICT development of the Indian Judiciary as part of the National eGovernance Plan. Phase III was approved for the period 2023-2027.
National eGovernance Plan: A plan that includes the eCourts project for the ICT development of the Indian Judiciary.
Supreme Court of India: The apex court of India, whose eCommittee provided information on the digitization of pages in the High Courts and District Courts.
National Service and Tracking of Electronic Processes NSTEP: A technology enabled process serving and issuing of summons.
Andhra Pradesh: A state in India that has received financial assistance under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme CSS.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2188
TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 01st AUGUST, 2025
INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMEMNT FOR JUDICIARY
2188. Smt. Bharti Pardhi:
Shri Sanjay Uttamrao Deshmukh:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) the details of the progress of Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for development of
infrastructure facilities for judiciary;
(b) the details of central assistance issued to States/UTs in last three financial years and in current
financial year;
(c) the contribution and impact of the above said assistance in construction of court rooms and
residential units for judicial officers in States/UTs particularly in Maharashtra;
(d) the specific measures being taken by the Government to address the issue of
infrastructural shortcomings including insufficient court rooms, staff and digital connectivity in
district and subordinate courts particularly in remote and rural areas; and
(e) the present status of implementation of phase three of e-Courts project?
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 (e): The Department of Justice has been implementing the Centrally Sponsored Scheme
(CSS) for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for the Judiciary since 1993-94 to augment the
resources of the State Governments in a prescribed fund sharing pattern. There are five
components under the Scheme namely court halls, residential quarters, lawyers’ halls, digital
computer rooms and toilet complexes.
1A sum of Rs. 12,101.89 crore has been released under the Scheme since its inception, out of
which Rs. 8,657.59 crore (71.54%) has been released since 2014-15. The details of Central
assistance released to States/UTs in the last three financial years are at Annexure-I. From 15,818
court halls and 10,211 residential units in the year 2014, the numbers of available court halls and
residential units have increased to 22372 (41.43% increase) and 19,851 (94.40% increase)
respectively. In addition, 3,128 court halls and 2,772 residential units are under construction. The
details of State-wise availability of court halls and residential units are at Annexure-II.
Financial assistance amounting to Rs 1,099.83 crore has been extended to the State of
Maharashtra under the Scheme since inception. Out of this amount, Rs. 700.17 crore (63.67%)
have been released since 2014-15. A sum of Rs. 28.06 crore has been earmarked to the State of
Maharashtra for the current financial year. At present, 2503 court halls and 2202 residential units
are available in the State of Maharashtra. In addition, 560 court halls and 144 residential units are
under construction.
The e-Courts project is being implemented as integrated Mission Mode Project since 2007
for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development of the Indian Judiciary
as part of the National e-Governance Plan. Phase III of the e-Courts Project (for the period from
2023 to 2027) was approved in September 2023 with an outlay of ₹7,210 crore. Under Phase-III,
several steps have been taken to improve the court management processes and digitize the services
for the various stakeholders including lawyers, litigants and judges.
One of the components of eCourts Project Phase III is the scanning, digitization and digital
preservation of case records, for which an amount of Rs. 2038.40 crore has been earmarked. As
per information provided by the eCommittee, Supreme Court of India, 213.29 crore pages in the
High Courts and 307.89 crore pages in the District Courts have been digitized till 30.06.2025. A
software has been developed for preservation of judicial records of High Courts and District
Courts. Further, Digital Courts 2.1 software has been developed for aiding courts to function in
paperless mode.
The e-Filing system (version 3.0) has been rolled out with upgraded features for lawyers
to access and upload documents related to the cases from any location. In addition, the e-Payment
system has been launched for hassle free transfer of fee etc. National Service and Tracking of
Electronic Processes (NSTEP) is significant step towards technology enabled process serving and
issuing of summons. Besides, a Judgment Search portal has been started with features such as
search by Bench, Case Type, Case Number, Year, Petitioner/ Respondent Name etc. This facility
is being provided free of cost to all. In order to facilitate easy and hassle-free access to citizen-
centric services, 1814 eSewa Kendras (Facilitation Centres) have been established across the
country. In addition, 29 Virtual Courts are functioning across 21 States/UTs for trying traffic
related offences.
*****
2Annexure-I
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION
NO. 2188 FOR ANSWER ON 01.08.2025
(Amount in Rs. crore)
2025-26 (as on
Sr. States/ UTs 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
30.06.2025)
1 A&N Islands 0.00 0.49 0.08 0.00
2 Andhra Pradesh 22.50 49.82 0.99 5.24
3 Arunachal Pradesh 32.38 0.00 6.24 0.00
4 Assam 25.00 40.00 40.75 0.00
5 Bihar 0.00 67.45 107.81 15.14
6 Chhattisgarh 60.00 6.69 45.35 7.75
7 Chandigarh 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
8 Dadar Nagar Haveli and 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Daman & Diu
9 Delhi 0.00 0.00 16.50 0.00
10 Goa 25.00 1.53 14.27 0.00
11 Gujarat 6.22 95.62 51.34 0.00
12 Haryana 0.00 20.10 0.00 0.00
13 Himachal Pradesh 0.00 6.00 13.62 0.00
14 Jammu & Kashmir 12.60 12.00 31.50 0.00
15 Jharkhand 16.51 40.81 14.57 3.99
16 Karnataka 82.01 133.16 73.92 0.00
17 Kerala 0.00 7.00 45.89 0.00
18 Ladakh 0.00 1.40 6.93 0.00
19 Lakshadweep 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
20 Madhya Pradesh 125.00 104.00 42.69 6.14
21 Maharashtra 100.00 119.53 118.36 0.00
22 Manipur 12.85 0.00 3.71 0.00
23 Meghalaya 50.00 33.72 35.79 0.00
24 Mizoram 0.00 8.86 13.57 0.00
25 Nagaland 0.00 4.39 4.00 0.00
32025-26 (as on
Sr. States/ UTs 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
30.06.2025)
26 Odisha 31.49 30.88 51.48 0.00
27 Puducherry 9.55 0.00 0.00 0.00
28 Punjab 12.50 18.42 0.00 0.00
29 Rajasthan 71.66 80.41 58.35 12.22
30 Sikkim 2.27 2.70 0.00 0.00
31 Tamil Nadu 133.85 0.00 61.27 0.00
32 Telangana 26.61 0.00 1.96 0.00
33 Tripura 0.00 40.49 20.00 0.00
34 Uttarakhand 0.00 13.75 46.14 0.00
35 Uttar Pradesh 0.00 102.96 174.12 0.00
36 West Bengal 0.00 18.00 22.22 0.00
Total 858.00 1,060.17 1,123.40 50.48
# As per PFMS Portal
4Annexure-II
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION
NO. 2188 FOR ANSWER ON 01.08.2025
Sr. States/UTs Total Court Total Court Total Total Residential
Halls Halls Under Residential Units Under
Construction* Units Construction*
1 Andaman & Nicobar 15 0 11 0
2 Andhra Pradesh 661 97 661 13
3 Arunachal Pradesh 34 6 32 3
4 Assam 422 83 381 20
5 Bihar 1667 207 1242 296
6 Chandigarh 31 1 30 0
7 Chhattisgarh 495 74 473 776
8 D & N Haveli and 8 3 8 0
Daman & Diu
9 Delhi 739 0 331 70
10 Goa 50 37 20 3
11 Gujarat 1509 106 1360 331
12 Haryana 589 75 599 65
13 Himachal Pradesh 178 11 155 7
14 Jammu and Kashmir 209 45 146 8
15 Jharkhand 652 13 611 24
16 Karnataka 1244 185 1198 45
17 Kerala 575 111 566 20
18 Ladakh 11 4 4 2
19 Lakshadweep 3 0 3 0
20 Madhya Pradesh 1656 262 1781 119
21 Maharashtra 2503 560 2202 144
22 Manipur 42 12 16 33
23 Meghalaya 72 16 140 86
24 Mizoram 47 32 38 8
25 Nagaland 30 8 39 0
5Sr. States/UTs Total Court Total Court Total Total Residential
Halls Halls Under Residential Units Under
Construction* Units Construction*
26 Odisha 905 156 769 101
27 Puducherry 34 0 27 0
28 Punjab 643 21 643 33
29 Rajasthan 1402 351 1180 122
30 Sikkim 20 5 15 2
31 Tamil Nadu 1256 45 1386 11
32 Telangana 552 23 472 6
33 Tripura 86 27 74 33
34 Uttar Pradesh 2892 366 2553 361
35 Uttarakhand 253 69 212 4
36 West Bengal 887 117 473 26
TOTAL 22,372 3,128 19,851 2,772
*As per Nyaya Vikas Portal
6