Union Budget 2023: Kiren Rijiju hails outlay of Rs 7,000 crore for e-courts

After the Union Budget was presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, also the first budget of "Amril Kaal", Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju seemed to be grateful for the proposal of the critical e-courts Phase-III Project with an outlay of Rs 7,000 crore.

Rijiju has termed the allocation as "unprecedented", which will create paperless courts for faster delivery of justice.

Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sitharaman, Rijiju, in a series of 11 tweets said that this year's allocation will ensure ease of justice and will further improve the justice delivery system that the PM has always envisioned.

Not long ago, Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud inaugurated the software for e-inspection of digitised judicial files at the Delhi High Court, making it the first High Court in the country to bring such a method of inspection of files.

It was said that where advocates and litigants earlier had to visit the High Court to inspect their case files, they will now be able to inspect the online files digitally with the ease of the 'Online e-Inspection Software', which will eventually reduce the paperwork.

"The Hon'ble Chief Justice of India, Dr. DY Chandrachud ji who as the Chairperson of the e-Committee of the Supreme Court of India has been instrumental in the success of the earlier phases of the e-courts project and who personally supervised and mentored the formulation of the DPR of the Phase-III of the Project," Rijiju complimented via his tweet.

He said that the e-Courts project Phase-III is a continuation of the achievements during Phase-I and Phase-II of the project, allowing the wheels of judiciary to turn even during the Covid-19 pandemic when the courts had to be closed following the lockdown.

Describing the initiatives as "path-breaking", Rijiju listed them in his tweets.

He said: "Digital and paperless courts that aim to bring court proceedings under a digital format in a court, thereby, limiting the use of paper and speeding up the disposal of cases."

He added that online courts will focus on eliminating the presence of litigants or lawyers in the court and 4,400 fully functional eSewa Kendras will provide assistance to them.

"Expansion of scope of virtual courts beyond adjudication of traffic violations," he listed.

Furthermore, he said that the use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning will allow for data analysis to work towards reduction in pendency and understanding litigation patterns, forecasting future needs etc.

He said that the live streaming of court hearings would allow for further transparency in judicial proceedings with the digitisation of entire court records serving to pave the way for a completely paperless environment in the future.

"An Online Dispute Resolution platform will encourage alternate dispute resolution and a robust Video Conferencing System will create seamless connectivity between the Jails and Courts, allowing for all bail appearances over VC," Rijiju concluded.

--IANS

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