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.