Efforts to Boost Public Outreach and Transparency Aim to Strengthen Justice Delivery, Says Ministry of Law and Justice

The justice delivery system consists of a number of stakeholders involved in dispensation of justice which, inter-alia, includes the judiciary, law enforcement authorities, prosecution agencies and legal aid authorities. These stakeholders are required to work in coordination to resolve disputes, enforce laws and administer justice in order to foster greater public trust and confidence.

The Government is committed towards facilitating an ecosystem that promotes transparency, public outreach and community engagement thereby aiding a fair justice delivery system. Some of the initiatives taken by the Government in this regard are as under: –

1. The Government had set up the National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms in 2011, with the twin objectives of increasing access by reducing delays and arrears in the system and enhancing accountability through structural changes and by setting performance standards and capacities. The Mission has been pursuing a co-ordinated approach for phased liquidation of arrears and pendency in judicial administration, which, inter-alia, involves improved infrastructure for courts including computerization, increase in strength of subordinate judiciary, policy and legislative measures in the areas prone to excessive litigation, re-engineering of court procedure for quick disposal of cases and emphasis on human resource development.
2. Under the e-Courts Mission Mode Project, information and communication technology (ICT) has been leveraged for IT enablement of the Indian Judiciary. The intervention of technology through the eCourts Project is considered as one of the important factors that has contributed to promotion of greater transparency and expeditious disposal of cases. At present, there are 18,735 computerised District and Subordinate courts. WAN connectivity has been provided to 99.4% of court complexes. Video conferencing facility has been enabled between 3,240 court complexes and 1,272 corresponding jails. As on 30.04.2024, 1050 e-Sewa Kendras have been set up at court complexes to facilitate citizen centric services to lawyers and litigants. As on 31.05.2024, 28 virtual courts have been set up in 21 States/UTs,which have handled over 5.08 crore cases and realized more than Rs. 561.09 crores in fines. The components of the eCourts Project such as Video Conferencing, Virtual Courts for Traffic Challans, eFiling, ePayment, e-Sewa Kendras, e-Courts Services App and Portal, JustIS app, National Service and Tracking of Electronic Processes (NSTEP), etc. have helped in reducing procedural delays, thus, enabling faster adjudication of cases.The Union Cabinet on 13.09.2023 has approved the Phase-III of the e-Courts Project with an outlay of Rs.7,210 crores. Taking the gains of Phase-I and II to the next level, the main objective of the Phase-III is to create a unified technology platform for the judiciary, which will provide a seamless and paperless interface between the courts, the litigants and other stakeholders.
3. Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Judicial Infrastructure that is being implemented since 1993-1994, funds are being released to States/UTs for construction of court halls, residential quarters for judicial officers, lawyers’ halls, toilet complexes and digital computer rooms that ease the life of lawyers and litigants, thereby aiding justice delivery. Since its inception, Rs.11167.36 crores have been released under this Scheme. The number of court halls has increased from 15,818 as on 30.06.2014 to 23,020 as on date, and number of residential units has increased from 10,211 as on 30.06.2014 to 20,836 as on date.
4. The Government has been regularly filling up the vacancies in the higher judiciary. From 01.05.2014 to 09.07.2024, 62 Judges were appointed in the Supreme Court of India. 976 new Judges were appointed and 745 Additional Judges were made permanent in the High Courts. Sanctioned strength of Judges of High Courts has been increased from 906 in May, 2014 to 1114 currently. The sanctioned and working strength of judicial officers in District and Subordinate courts has increased as under:

5. Under the aegis of the Fourteenth Finance Commission, Fast Track Courts have been established for dealing with cases of heinous crimes; cases involving senior citizens, women, children, etc. As on 31.05.2024, 866 Fast Track Courts are functional for trying cases of heinous crimes, crimes against women and children, etc.
6. Special Courts also exist in order to fast track criminal cases involving elected Members of Parliament (MPs) / Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs).Ten (10) Special Courts are functional in nine (9) States/UTs.
7. For the safety and security of women and girl child, Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) including exclusive POCSO Courts have been set up across the country for the expeditious disposal of pending cases of rape and offences under the POCSO Act. As on 31.05.2024, a total of 755 FTSCs including 410 exclusive POCSO (ePOCSO) Courts are functional in 30 States/UTs across the country which have disposed of more than 2,53,000 cases.
8. Alternate Dispute Resolution methods have been promoted through legislative amendments. TheCommercial Courts Act, 2015 was amended on 20th August, 2018, making Pre-institution Mediation and Settlement (PIMS) mandatory in case of commercial disputes. Arbitration and ConciliationAct, 1996 was amended by Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015 for expediting the speedy resolution of disputes by prescribing timelines. The recently enacted Mediation Act, 2023, lays down that mediation can be conducted in civil and commercial matters, in terms of the provisions of the said Act.
9. Lok Adalat is also an important Alternative Disputes Resolution Mechanism, where the disputes/ cases pending in the court of law or at pre-litigation stage are amicably settled/ compromised. Under the Legal Services Authorities (LSA) Act, 1987, an award made by a Lok Adalat is deemed to be a decree of a civil court and is final and binding on all parties and no appeal lies against thereto before any court. Lok Adalat is not a permanent establishment. National Lok Adalats are organized simultaneously in all Taluks, Districts and High Courts on a pre-fixed date.
10. The Tele-Law programme started by the Central Government in 2017 is an effective and reliable e-interface platform connecting the needy and disadvantaged sections seeking legal advice with panel lawyers via video conferencing, telephone and chat facilities available at the Common Service Centres (CSCs) situated in Gram Panchayat or through Tele-Law mobile App. Till 30^th June, 2024, a total of 90,51,131 cases were registered on Tele-Law, out of which advice has been enabled in 89,57,714 cases.
11. Nyaya Bandhu is India’s first dispensation pro bono framework where interested lawyers give pro bono services to the disadvantaged persons registered under Section 12 of Legal Services Act,1987. As on date, 11,146 Pro Bono advocates are registered from 24 State Bar Councils & 22 High Courts and Pro Bono Clubs have been activated in 89 laws schools to instill Pro Bono culture in budding lawyers.