Supreme Court Refuses To Entertain PIL Seeking Separate National Judicial Data Grid For Tribunals

The Supreme Court on Friday (September 27) refused the entertain a PIL seeking for the creation of a separate National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) for the Tribunals in the country. 

The bench of CJI DY Chandrachud and Justice Manoj Misra dismissed the petition considering that the petitioner had filed a similar petition previously where he sought the inclusion of Tribunals in the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG).

The petitioner had now sought for a separate NJDG specifically for the Quasi-Judicial Tribunals apart from the existing NJDG which is primarily for the Apex Court, High Courts and District Courts.

The bench while dismissing the present petition, allowed the petitioner to pursue his proposals before the government.

The Court had dismissed the earlier petition noting that the NJDG is a part of the E-Courts project which only covers the functioning of Courts. The CJI had then explained that presently the Union dispersed funds worth 7000 crores under the 3rd phase of the E-Court Project which were to be utilized for the Courts across the country. He added that including the tribunals under the project may lead to the funds being diverted for the tribunals instead of the Courts.

" he NJDG is part of the E-Courts project. The E-Courts project comprehends only the district courts, the High Courts and the Supreme Court. We don't take the tribunals as part of the E-courts project at all. In phase 3 we got 7000 crores for court, it doesn't cover the tribunals. The moment we say tribunals will be brought on, the funds will be distributed by the Government to the tribunal under e-courts"

The NJDG is a key part of the e-Courts project, offering easy access to information about court cases. It shows data on new, pending, and completed cases, making the justice system more open. However, tribunals set up under various laws are not yet part of this system. It may be noted that on September 14, 2023, the CJI announced the Supreme Court's data to be officially on board with the NJDG.

Case Details : KISHAN CHAND JAIN Versus UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.| W.P.(C) No. 523/2024

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