The third phase of the eCourts Project was approved by the Union Cabinet as a central sector programme with a Rs 7,210 crore budget that would be implemented over four years. It will take place over four years and will see the digitalization of all court records, including legacy and pending cases, at an estimated cost of Rs 2,038.40 crore.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X, “With the cabinet approval of eCourts Project Phase-III, we are ushering in a new era of justice delivery in India. Integrating advanced technology will make our judicial system more accessible and transparent.”

According to report, Anurag Thakur, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, stated that the objective is to build online and paperless courts and improve the transparency of the legal system. The e-filing and e-payment systems will be made universal and cloud storage will be made to store the data. In all court complexes, 4,400 e-service centres would be established.

Phase III objectives

The goal of this phase is to improve the court's digital infrastructure. The proposal calls for the construction of 4,400 eSewa kendras throughout all court complexes, the establishment of 1150 virtual courts, and the construction of 2,500 new modern, virtual-friendly courts. With the use of these kendras, residents who are not technologically savvy will be able to use virtual courts and a range of online judicial services, including e-filing and e-payment of court fees. The digitisation of court records will be more environmentally friendly by minimising paper-based filings and reducing the physical movements of documents. The third phase also aims to add Artificial Intelligence into the judicial system and introduce features like Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis of case pendency and forecasting future litigation as well.

As reported in the Mint, the government said, it will put in place intelligent smart systems enabling data-based decision-making for judges and registries while scheduling or prioritizing cases. The main objective of Phase III is to create a unified technology platform for the judiciary, which will provide a seamless and paperless interface between the courts, the litigants and other stakeholders.”

The Department of Justice, the Ministry of Law & Justice, and the eCommittee of the Supreme Court of India will collaborate to accomplish the third phase of the e-courts initiative.

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