Patna High Court E-Committee Launches Six New E-Initiatives For Bilingual Judgment Access, Enhanced Court Operations, Data Handling, Etc

The Patna High Court's e-Committee launched six new applications on Monday, aimed at streamlining and improving court operations. These initiatives were introduced during an inauguration ceremony attended by Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran, Justice Ashutosh Kumar, and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi.

The six applications – e-Indian Law Report (Patna Series), e-PHCR (Patna High Court Law Reports), BSLSA Comprehensive Information & Monitoring System, e-Judicial Repository System (Translation), e-Courts Phase-III Monitoring & Implementation System, and e-Information System for Infrastructure — seek to simplify and modernise key aspects of court operations.

During the event, Justice Ashutosh Kumar, Chairman of the e-Committee, highlighted the evolving relationship between law and technology, noting, “My observation over all these years has been that the relationship between law and technology is both simple and exceedingly complex. At an elementary level, I understand it as an application of labour to create a product, to generate a service, or otherwise to produce a desired result.”

Noting four significant changes in recent times, Justice Kumar said, “As you would all have noticed, and I too have observed, there have been four very discernible changes in recent times. First, there has been a hike in computational and data processing power of the IT systems. Second, data has become available on an unprecedented scale. Third, the cost of storing data has fallen precipitously. Finally, we have the development of increasingly sophisticated software services.”

He shared an anecdote, stating, “I heard someone say this in one of the conferences—that if the new technologies roll over you, you don't remain part of the technology; you don't remain part of the steamroller, you become part of the road. So, this is in the process of adopting all the new techniques and technologies which would usher in a new way in which the dispensation of justice would be held. This is a step forward.”

The e-Indian Law Report (Patna Series), initially published in physical format, has been revived in an advanced electronic format. This software allows judgments and orders of the Supreme Court and Patna High Court to be accessed in a bilingual format, both in English and Hindi. It is available free of charge to users worldwide and allows searches across multiple parameters. The software also provides additional features, including speeches from full court references, welcome addresses, and articles by judicial officers.

The e-PHCR (Patna High Court Law Reports) includes all reportable judgments and orders of the Patna High Court. Till date, around 10,000 digitally available reportable judgments in English have been uploaded to the platform, along with available Hindi translations and headnotes. This will enhance accessibility & convenience for the public at large through its searchable databases and comprehensive coverage.

The Bihar State Legal Services Authority Comprehensive Information & Monitoring System is an electronic reporting system is a digital platform designed to collect, manage, and report data in an organised and efficient manner. By leveraging technology, this electronic reporting system will enhance the accuracy, speed, and accessibility of information reporting. This software has been developed with a view to make the Bihar State Legal Services Authority a paperless organisation and reducing time and manpower engaged in manual processes and make the communication and reporting system between the BSLSA & District Legal Services authority completely paperless.

The Judicial Repository System (Translation) is an electronic repository system providing a digital platform designed to collect, manage, store, and disseminate digital content for digital assets. This software will provide centralised storage, enhanced accessibility, search & retrieval, preservation, and archiving, and secured access to the translated petitions/documents/circulars/gazettes.

The eCourts Phase-III Monitoring & Implementation System will make the monitoring & implementation of the e-Court phase-III project easier and can provide the status of any judgeship at the click of a button anytime anywhere. This software is developed for pinpointed monitoring of E-Courts project viz. the details of each and every aspect of E-Courts implementation, issues arising, and its resolution thereof with graphical analysis of the overall progress. A significant focus of Phase III is on digital inclusion, ensuring that court services are accessible to all, including marginalised and rural communities. Enhanced monitoring tools in this software will provide real-time insights, enabling better oversight and management. The dashboards and data transparency features allow tracking the progress of individual judgeships with greater accountability.

The e-Information System for Infrastructure software is a digital platform designed to handle the creation, storage, organisation, and distribution of letters and other forms of correspondence. Leveraging technology, streamlines the management of both incoming and outgoing communications, making the process more efficient, secure, and organised. This software will keep track of each and every correspondence of the Infrastructure Cell of Patna High Court along with its digital footprints so as to enable us to locate any related documents in real-time. Hence, providing centralised storage, automated workflow, search and retrieval, audit trails & secure access.