Parliament Question: Reforms in judicial system

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 757 ANSWERED ON 05/02/2026 REFORMS IN JUDICIAL SYSTEM

757. Dr. K. Laxman:

Will the Minister of Law and Justice be pleased to state:

(a) whether Government has initiated data-driven and people-centric judicial reforms, as highlighted in the recent OECD Global Roundtable;

(b) the steps taken toward court digitization and improving interoperability between judicial, police and prosecution systems;

(c) the measures adopted to strengthen evidence-based decision-making in the judicial system; and

(d) whether these reforms are expected to reduce delays and enhance efficiency? 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 (c): In alignment with global best practices highlighted in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Global Roundtable 2025, data-driven and people-centric justice reforms have been implemented under the e-Courts Mission Mode Project. Some key initiatives to promote court digitization, enhance interoperability between judicial, police and prosecution systems, and strengthen evidence-based decision-making are

as under:

(i) The Inter-Operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) project based on the principle of ‘one data one entry’, aims to achieve seamless information exchange across all the pillars of criminal justice system including police, prisons, prosecutions, courts and forensics. A data sharing matrix has been approved by the eCommittee of Hon’ble Supreme Court of India for exchange of data between Case Information System (CIS) (e-Courts) and other pillars under ICJS.

1(ii) The National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) is aimed at creating a centralised searchable national repository of criminal fingerprints, with a database of 1.23 crore finger print records. NAFIS enables real-time matching of fingerprints from many origins such as arrested persons, unknown dead bodies, missing persons, crime scene chance prints, and civil records (where permitted). By replacing legacy systems and integrating State databases, NAFIS has ensured interoperability, speed, accuracy, and uniformity in fingerprint-based identification across all law enforcement agencies.

(iii) e-Forensic application has been developed for digitizing the forensic workflows with functionalities like user profile, cases management and case reporting.

(iv) Over 618.36 crore pages of court records including legacy records have been digitized across Courts to ensure faster retrieval, secure storage and seamless digital workflows.

(v) 29 Virtual Courts have been established to enable online adjudication of traffic challans.

Virtual Courts have received 9.81 crore challans, out of which 8.74 crore were disposed and 94.55 lakh challans were paid amounting to Rs. 973.32 crore.

(vi) Video Conferencing facilities have been expanded across 3,240 court complexes and 1,272 jails. Courts have conducted over 3.93 crore hearings through video conferencing, facilitating remote hearings of undertrials, witnesses and lawyers.

(vii) Live streaming of court proceeding is operational in 11 High Courts.

(viii) E-filing and e-payments systems have been implemented to allow online filing of cases and digital payment of court fees and fines, reducing physical interfaces and procedural bottlenecks. Approximately 1.03 crore cases have been filed electronically through the e-filing platform and the e-payments system has processed transactions for court-fee worth Rs. 1,234 crore and fine worth Rs. 63 crore.

(ix) The National Judicial Data Grid (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.

(x) 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.

(xi) The S3WaaS platform hosts 730 District Court websites, ensuring secure and accessible web infrastructure.

(xii) Real-time digital services have expanded significantly, with 35 lakh daily hits on the e- Courts portal and more than 3 crore SMS and more than 1 crore emails being issued in December 2025.

2(xiii) The e-Courts Services mobile app (3.5 crore downloads) provides the lawyers and litigants relevant information about case status, cause lists etc.

(xiv) The JustIS app (22,090 downloads) is a management tool for the judges assisting them to effectively organise and monitor their judicial business.

(xv) e-Sewa Kendras have been operationalised as One-Stop Digital Centres to assist litigants and advocates with e-filing, with filing, case updates, and documentation. 48 e-Sewa Kendras are functional across all High Courts and 2283 e-Sewa Kendras across District Courts.

(xvi) 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

6.21 crore e-processes, out of which 1.61 crore e-processes have been successfully delivered.

(xvii) The Open Application Programming Interface (Open API) has been developed by e- Committee, Supreme Court of India for sharing its data with other government departments. Open API is being used to track cases centrally at an institutional level, monitor readiness of the case, manage pendency and compliances.

(d): Yes, these reforms have reduced delays and enhanced efficiency in the justice delivery system by improving case management, enabling real-time monitoring of pendency and disposal, facilitating faster service of processes, and minimising procedural adjournments. The adoption of digital platforms, virtual hearings, data analytics and interoperable systems is contributing to better utilisation of judicial resources, faster resolution of disputes and improved access to justice for litigants.

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