In pipeline: ATM like Kiosks at Courts to help litigants

As per its plans regarding e-governance, the Government of India’s Department of Justice has submitted a proposal before the Expenditure Finance Committee for the phase II of the e-courts project. The cost for the same has been estimated to be Rs. 2764.90 crores.

As per the proposal, ATM like kiosks will be installed at every court in the country. Any litigant through these touchscreen kiosks would be able to have information like case status and would also be able to get daily orders. The proposal also mentions about having video conferencing facility at every court in the country. This will clearly help in fast disposal of cases, as the time spent in movement of prisoners from jail to court will be saved.

Reportedly, the ambitious kiosks  project will be for, “for easy access to documents such as case status and daily order sheets to litigants.”

The E-courts project is a result of ‘national policy and action plan for implementation of information and communication technology in the Indian Judiciary – 2005', which was submitted by the e-committee of the Supreme Court.

With the grim power situation that India faces and the frequent power cuts, government has proposed to set-up solar energy powered back up in 5 percent of the court complexes in the country, as a pilot project.

The E-court policy is part of the judicial reforms, which are dearly needed in a country where arrears is a huge problem the courts are facing. The policy seeks to improve both the quality and quantity of judicial productivity along with fast, affordable and transparent justice system.

With nearly 15,000 courts in the country, the proposal also mentions central filing and information centres for filing cases and finding out cases status and orders.