Parliament Question: Status of e-Courts Mission Mode Project Phase-III

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5555 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 27TH MARCH, 2026 STATUS OF e-COURTS MISSION MODE PROJECT PHASE-III 5555. SHRI BALABHADRA MAJHI: SHRI TEJASVI SURYA: SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA: SHRI SUKHJINDER SINGH RANDHAWA: SHRI DHAIRYASHEEL SAMBHAJIRAO MANE: SHRI ANOOP PRADHAN VALMIKI: SHRI ALOK SHARMA: SHRI PRAVEEN PATEL: SHRI RAMESH AWASTHI: SHRI P P CHAUDHARY: SHRI LUMBARAM CHOUDHARY: SHRI SHANKAR LALWANI: SHRI BHOJRAJ NAG: SHRI CHAVAN RAVINDRA VASANTRAO: SHRI MANISH JAISWAL: SHRI SATISH KUMAR GAUTAM: SHRI NABA CHARAN MAJHI: DR. HEMANG JOSHI: SHRI MADHAVANENI RAGHUNANDAN RAO: Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state: (a) the current status of Phase-III of the e-Courts Project, sanctioned with an outlay of Rs.7,210 crore and the targets achieved for the digitization of legacy judicial records so far, including Punjab; (b) the details of the "Digital-Native" ecosystem being developed to generate court records digitally, thereby reducing the reliance on physical scanning; (c) the number of e-Sewa Kendras established across district court complexes to bridge the digital divide for litigants and lawyers lacking high-speed internet access, particularly in Pali District Court; 1(d) whether the Government is piloting Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools for automated case-law research and "Virtual Evidence Rooms" to expedite the trial process; (e) if so, the details thereof; and (f) the total number of virtual hearings conducted by the Indian judiciary since the transition to a permanent hybrid hearing model along with India’s global ranking in this domain? 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) and (b): 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 Phase III (2023-27) of the e-Courts Project with a financial outlay of Rs. 7,210 crore is under implementation at present. Over the years, the e-Courts project has seen continued progress through expansion of e-filing, e-payments, increased adoption of virtual and hybrid hearings, digitisation of court records, strengthening of Case Information System and enhanced public access to case information through the NJDG etc. Some key initiatives and achievements contributing to the development of a digital ecosystem under the eCourts Mission Mode Project, as on 31.01.2026, are as under: (i) 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. (ii) Video Conferencing Rules have been implemented in all the High Courts and District Courts. (iii) 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. (iv) Live streaming of court proceeding is operational in 11 High Courts. (v) 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 2through 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. (vi) 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. (vii) Case Information System (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 Interoperable Criminal Justice System (ICJS). (viii) The S3WaaS (Secure, Scalable and Sugamya Website as a Service) platform hosts 730 District Court websites, ensuring secure and accessible web infrastructure. (ix) 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 (over 6 lakh sent daily) and the multilingual e-Courts services portal (with 35 lakh hits daily). (x) The e-Courts Services mobile app (3.59 crore downloads) provides the lawyers and litigants relevant information about case status, cause lists etc. (xi) The JustIS app (22,133 downloads) is a management tool for the judges assisting them to effectively organise and monitor their judicial business. (xii) 48 e-Sewa Kendras are functional across all the High Courts and 2,396 e-Sewa Kendras across the District Courts. (xiii) 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 7.40 crore e-processes. (xiv) Digital Courts 2.1 is a customized application for paperless Courts (pilot stage) 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 Under eCourts Phase-III, over 660.36 crore pages of court records including 94.71 cr. pages by the Punjab & Haryana High Court have been digitized to ensure faster retrieval, secure storage and seamless digital workflows. (c): Total 2,444 e-Sewa Kendras are functional across all 28 High Court jurisdictions (48 e-Sewa Kendra in High Courts and 2,396 in District Courts). 3As per the information provided by the High Court of Rajasthan, an e-Sewa Kendra has been established at the District Court Complex in Pali. (d) and (e): Under eCourts Project Phase III, an amount of Rs. 53.57 crore has been earmarked for the component ‘Future Technological Advancements’ to integrate modern technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) etc. An AI based software tool called Legal Research Analysis Assistant [LegRAA] has been developed to aid judges in legal research and document analysis. Another AI based tool called Digital Courts 2.1 has been designed to assist Judges and Judicial Officers by providing a single window for managing all case-related information and tasks. The platform includes voice-to-text (ASR-SHRUTI) and translation (PANINI) functionalities to assist the judges with order and judgment dictation. (f): Since introduction of hybrid hearing model, Courts have conducted over 3.97 crore hearings through video conferencing, facilitating remote hearings of undertrials, witnesses and lawyers, positioning India as a global leader in virtual hearing. ***** 4