Editorial: Major step towards judicial transparency

National Judicial Data Grid portal is a welcome move that will help in reducing pendency

The integration of the Supreme Court’s real-time case data with the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) portal is a welcome move that will boost transparency in the justice delivery system and help in reducing pendency. The portal will be updated in real-time, giving details of cases pending before the top court. The NJDG is a database of orders, judgements and case details from 18,735 district and subordinate courts and high courts created as an online platform under the e-Courts Project. It provides data related to judicial proceedings and decisions of all computerised district and subordinate courts in the country. All high courts have also joined the NJDG through web services, providing easy access to the public. With the Supreme Court of India onboarding the portal, the e-Courts project has completed the full circle. The database currently contains more than 23 crore orders and judgements, pertaining to both civil and criminal cases. The pendency of cases in courts is a huge legacy issue in India. Addressing the pendency issue forms a key aspect of judicial reforms. There are an estimated five crore cases pending in courts across the country. In a country where inordinate delays in the justice delivery system force undertrials languish in jails for years and even those granted bail must wait till the court order reaches the jail authorities by post, the urgency of overhauling the judicial infrastructure need not be over-emphasised. Technology can play an important role in not only reducing pendency but also making the process of delivery of justice easily accessible to people.

Delayed justice not only results in justice being denied but, more dangerously, creates incentives to break the law. Massive pendency of cases in courts across India has not only hampered the administration of justice over decades but also become a source of friction between Judiciary and Executive in the past. And, prolonged delays in the disposal of cases are bound to have an adverse impact by weakening the grip of the rule of law on society. In high courts, there are over 59 lakh cases pending. Like the apex court, around 70% of pendency in high courts involves admission stage matters. The central and State governments, the biggest litigants, have a greater role in reducing this pendency. They must upgrade judicial infrastructure, fill judicial vacancies and avoid frivolous litigation. A comprehensive set of judicial reforms is the best solution to address the systemic inadequacies. Digitisation of workflow and procedural revamp are part of this reforms process. Set up in 2015, the NJDG facilitates the implementation of information technology tools to speed up the justice delivery system by infusing State-specific and region-specific justice dispensation mechanisms devised under the guidance of the SC e-committee and HC e-committees. The union Cabinet recently approved the Phase III of the e-Courts Project with an outlay of Rs 7,210 crore.

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