Why is it in the news?

• Recently, the Supreme Court of India has joined the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) portal.
  • This inclusion completes the NJDG portal’s coverage of all three tiers of the Indian judiciary and is recognized as an innovation under the ease of doing business initiative.
• This move aligns with the “open data policy” and provides real-time case data to the public.

National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG)

• NJDG is a national repository of data related to cases across India’s courts.
• Users can access information on case institution, disposal, and pendency by type, year, stage, and quorum with a click.
• Benefits include increased coordination, informed decision-making, resource optimization, a single data source, and potential for high-quality research.
• The NJDG is part of the e-Courts initiative and is recognized as an innovation in the ease of doing business initiative.
• NJDG was developed by the National Informatics Centre in collaboration with the Supreme Court Registry’s computer cell.
• Data available on the NJDG-SCI (Supreme Court of India) portal includes current pendency, filings, disposals, and cases before different Bench sizes.

e-Courts Mission Project

• The e-Courts Mission Project is a nationwide initiative overseen and funded by the Department of Justice under the Ministry of Law and Justice.
• Its objectives include:
• Delivering efficient and time-bound citizen-centric services as outlined in the e-Court Project Litigant’s Charter.
• Developing, installing, and implementing decision support systems within courts.
• Automating processes to enhance transparency and accessibility of information for all stakeholders.
• Boosting judicial productivity in terms of quality and quantity.
• Making the justice delivery system more affordable, accessible, cost-effective, predictable, reliable, and transparent.