Gujarat HC's digital initiatives

Context: Recently, two digital services- ‘Justice Clock’, and electronic payment of court fee were inaugurated for Gujarat High court.

About ‘Justice Clock’

• The Justice Clock, an LED display, will exhibit vital statistics of the justice delivery system in Gujarat.
• Objective:  To “maximize outreach and visibility” of the work done by the state judiciary.

Online e-Courts fee system

• It allows advocate and parties to procure judicial stamps online through electronic payment.
• The platform now stands expanded to all district and taluka courts.

Digitalization of Indian Legal system

• Virtual courts: The e-courts mission project, guided by the Supreme Court e-Committee as part of the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP), began the digitization of Indian courts.
• Objective: To create a more accessible, inexpensive, dependable, and transparent judicial system.

The e-Courts initiative has so far been divided into three phases
Phase I

• It was primarily concerned with hardware installation, or the computerization of the courts

Objective: To extend specialized services to litigants, advocates, and the judiciary by computerizing all district and subordinate courts.

Phase II

• The main aim of Phase II was the betterment of software of the digital infrastructure.

Phase III

• The implementation of Phase III is yet to begin.
• The primary goal is to establish an “ecosystem” model in which systems interact with one another.
• The document proposes a digital case registry, a database of case laws, intelligent scheduling, a digital case management framework, e-filing, and open digital proceedings.

Online Legal Services

• Online platforms provide basic legal services ranging from trademark registration, registration, and execution of wills, leases, contracts.

Benefits of digitalization

• E-filing of cases
• Digitalization of court records
• Online court proceedings

Drawbacks

• Lack of digital education among the help desks of court
• Lack of motivation among help desks to upgrade to a more advanced digital infrastructure
• Automation is still not common.

Road Ahead

Setting up a national policy: Develop a policy that encourages the establishment of more skilled help desks.

• It is vital to have a well-defined and pre-determined policy framework since it will aid in the development of a definite roadmap and direction for India’s e-courts system.

The need for a better infrastructure: The government must identify and create the necessary infrastructure for a better functioning automated help desk service.

Organizing training programs: To manage all of the e-data, the government must invest significant resources in workforce training.

• These include keeping accurate records of notification, summons, warrants, bail orders, order copies, e-filing, and other similar activities for future reference.

Spreading awareness: Increasing awareness of e-Courts through speeches and seminars can help bring the benefits and convenience that e-Courts can provide in the limelight.