In response to Unstarred Question No. 1312 concerning delays in serving notices in District Courts, the Minister of Law and Justice stated that while data on delays is not centrally maintained, the government has taken steps to address the issue. Under the e-Courts Mission Mode Project, the e-Summons platform has been introduced via the Inter-operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS). Furthermore, the National Service and Tracking of Electronic Processes (NSTEP) application has been developed for technology-enabled process serving. GPS-enabled devices are provided to bailiffs to improve transparency and delivery speed. NSTEP offers real-time status updates and tracks the geographical coordinates of process servers. As of 2025, 22,789 bailiffs have been onboarded on NSTEP across 672 districts, with 19.34 lakh processes served.
Key Entities Referenced
National Service and Tracking of Electronic Processes (NSTEP): Application developed for technology-enabled process serving and issuing summons and notices.
e-Courts Mission Mode Project: Project under which e-Summons platform was introduced.
District Courts: Courts where the delays in serving notices are being addressed.
Ministry of Law and Justice: The ministry answering the question in Lok Sabha.
Lok Sabha: Parliamentary House where the question was raised.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1312
TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 06th FEBRUARY, 2026
TIME TAKEN TO SERVE NOTICE IN DISTRICT COURTS
1312. Shri Arun Govil:
Will the Minister of Law and Justice be pleased to state:
(a) whether there has been long delays in serving notices to the other party in some cases filed in the
District Courts of the country, if so, the reasons therefor;
(b) whether the time taken to serve such notice to the other party can be reduced; and
(c) if so, the steps taken or proposed to be taken by the Government in this regard?
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) The data regarding delays in serving notices to the other party in cases filed in the District Courts
of the country is not centrally maintained. However, the Government of India, under the e-Courts
Mission Mode Project, has introduced e-Summons platform,under the Inter-operable Criminal Justice
System (ICJS),for faster and more reliable communication of court notices and summons. Further,
National Service and Tracking of Electronic Processes (NSTEP) application has been developed for
technology enabled process serving and issuing of summons and notices. A GPS-enabled device is
given to the Bailiff for the service of summons leading to greater transparency and speedy delivery of
processes. NSTEP provides real time status update of service of summons and notices besides tracking
of geographical coordinates of the process server at the time of serving. Currently, 22,789 bailiffs have
been on-boarded on NSTEP across 672 districts and 19.34 lakh processes have been served in the year
2025.
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