'‘No Other High Courts Have This’': DAKSH's Panel Discussion On 'Technological Transformation of Kerala High Court'

"The design of the e-courts system we have implemented in Kerala High Court is not merely the architecture, but our vision behind the same. Our approach is our vision, and that is our design," Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque quipped, during a Panel discussion by Bengaluru-based think tank and research institution DAKSH on 'Technological Transformation of Kerala High Court' today. 

The event launched a case study conducted by the researchers of DAKSH, how the Kerala High Court embraced technology to modernize its justice delivery platform and keep abreast with the changing times.

The discussion was led by the Panel comprising Kerala High Court Judges, Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque and Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V.; Dean Development and Professor of Kerala Digital University Dr. Asharaf S., and Advocate Santhosh Mathew. The Research Director of DAKSH, Surya Prakash S. was the moderator for the event. 

DAKSH's study focused on how the Kerala High Court had been instrumental in utilizing technology in three phases, namely, E-Filing, Scrutiny, and Paperless Courts. The researchers also shed light on how the Case Management System (CMS) adopted by the High Court had become an efficient alternative to the Case Information System (CIS) that had been launched by the National Informatics Centre (NIC). 

Remembering the initial days of work on the Digitization process of the High Court, Justice Mustaque, who is also the Chairperson of the Computerization committee of the High Court, remarked that while the High Court had been able to mark great strides in this regard when compared to its counterparts, it too had a long way to go, and had several challenges before it to tackle. 

Justice Mustque was also quick to note that the State of Kerala had welcomes the digitzation of courts, due to the approach the committee had adopted in implementing the same.

Justice Vijayaraghavan remarked that no other High Courts in the country had been able to come as far in the digitization process as the Kerala High Court had been able to. The Judge added that it was the realization that the CIS was not sufficient for Case Management, that prompted them to request the State Government to allocate budget so as to hire the best human resources for the task. 

"We got some of the best 5 persons and started on this project. We started from scratch. We built this up brick by brick. We obtained inputs from several persons. No other HC in India has anything like what we have in Kerala High Court. We have things in the pipeline using AI, bloc chain etc that even courts outside India do not have," Justice Vijayaraghavan said. 

The Judge further stated that the vision behind the system was to implement an interface that would be easy to use for even the most technologically challenged judge.

"What we envisage is lawyers should be able to come to court, access their files, and do research. As far as Judges were concerned, we asked from the technologically adept to technologically challenged Judges as to exactly what they wanted. It is still a work in progress, though and would be fully efficient in a few more years' time," he added. 

Advocate Mathew reminded lawyers to be more adaptable to the changes brought about by technology. 

"I also fall in category of technologically challenged. But I have invested in young minds who are adept with technology. Young people can assist their seniors. Information is available online. The challenge before lawyers is to be up to speed. With access to information, lawyers will be more equipped," Advocate Mathew said. 

The lawyer also praised the Judges of the High Court for the work done in the e-Courts project. 

"NIC might be NASA but we are ISRO and this is our Chandrayaan. With our limited resources we have done so much. I think we are a step in the right direction. A lot of work might be left but I must really appreciate our Judges for this," Advocate Mathew added. 

Dr. Asharaf also noted in this regard that the process of Kerala High Court's e-Courts project had been been built differently from other government websites. "It is more service oriented and scalable," he said, while adding that it also had the potential to be developed further.

As regards the plans to roll out the digitization process for the District Judiciary, Justice Mustaque remarked that the same is already underway, and had been kickstarted in August, 2023. "We had a discussion and addressed certain grievances that were raised by the stakeholders. We are imparting training to lawyers and clerks. We've also launched Judicial Officers E-Learning Programme. This is an inclusive process," the Judge quipped. 

For future plans up the sleeve of the High Court of Kerala, Justice Vijayaraghavan said that the Court was preparing to enter into an MoU with theVice Chancellor of the Digital University, and the Chief Secretary. He also said that the next step in this regard was the use of Artificial Intelligence. 

"We already have machine scrutiny and machine learning. That will be rolled out to writs too," the Judge added. 

Click Here To Read LiveLaw's Exclusive Feature On 'Kerala High Court's Innovative Paperless E-Court System': https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/kerala-high-court-e-court-project-paperless-court-visionary-222988 

Click Here To Read DAKSH's Report on 'Technological Transformation of the Kerala High Court