E-Courts Phase III Targets Digitisation Of 3,100 Cr Judicial Records: Mos Meghwal

(MENAFN- KNN India) New Delhi, Feb 5 (KNN) The digitisation of court records is a key focus of the e-Courts Project Phase III, with only 5.9 per cent of legacy judicial records digitised by 21 High Courts before the current phase, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal said.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Meghwal said Phase III has approved a large-scale scanning and digitisation infrastructure to digitise about 3,100 crore documents, covering both old and ongoing cases.

A Digital Preservation Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has also been prepared to guide the scanning, storage, retrieval and long-term preservation of judicial records.

Funding Details

According to the data shared by the minister, funds released under Phase III include Rs 611.88 crore in 2023–24, Rs 997.49 crore in 2024–25, and Rs 864.43 crore in 2025–26 (as on February 2, 2026).

Additional allocations include Rs 185.06 crore to the National Informatics Centre for technical support, Rs 54.79 crore to BSNL for wide area network connectivity, Rs 17.51 crore to the Supreme Court's eCommittee for change management, Rs 0.28 crore to IIT Madras for developing an e-learning platform, and Rs 9.42 crore for miscellaneous expenses such as salaries, office costs and publicity.

Allocation Gaps

Despite the positive intentions of the Government, e-Courts Phase III has not seen a matching increase in allocation to sustain momentum. This is significant given the wide inter-state disparities in technology adoption within district courts, where central funding plays a critical role in implementation.

India's budget allocation to judiciary must reflect the critical role effective justice delivery plays in overall economic growth through speedier dispute resolution and enforcement of commercial contracts, which are essential for improving ease of doing business.

Move Towards Paperless Courts

The Detailed Project Report for Phase III proposes the creation of paperless courts through customised software that allows e-filed and scanned documents to be accessed by judges, litigants, lawyers and the public. Judges can view cause lists and digitised case records directly on their systems.

The minister said the wider use of digitisation, virtual courts, e-filing and e-payments has already led to a noticeable reduction in paper usage across courts.

Monitoring and Review

The minister said that periodic reviews are being conducted in coordination with High Courts and the Supreme Court's eCommittee to monitor the implementation of Phase III across States and Union Territories.

(KNN Bureau)

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