The Supreme Court has ordered that all records of criminal trials and civil suits at district courts be digitised, in a step aimed at bolstering technology adaptation in the judiciary to enhance efficiency, equity, and ease.
A bench of justices Krishna Murari and Sanjay Karol underscored the increased role of technology in creating a more accessible, inexpensive, dependable, and transparent judicial system, issuing judicial directives in addition to the SOP issued by the E-committee of the Supreme Court for the digital preservation of judicial records.
“Technology has, in the present time become increasingly enmeshed with the systems of dispute resolution and adjudication with the trends pointing leading to all the more interplay, both supplementary and complimentary between technology and law,” noted the bench in its judgment on Monday. The judgment was released on Wednesday.
The court ordered that the registrar general of high courts shall ensure that in all cases of criminal trial, as well as civil suits, the digitisation of records must be undertaken promptly at all district courts, preferably within the time prescribed for filing an appeal within the laws of procedure (30 or 60 days).
“The concerned district judge, once the system of digitisation along with the system of authentication of the digitised records is in place in their judgeship, to ensure that the records so digitised are verified as expeditiously as possible. A continually updated record of register of records digitised shall be maintained with periodic reports being sent to the concerned high courts for suitable directions,” said the bench in its judgment.
The court noted that the SOP issued by E-committee requires all high courts to establish a digitisation cell, judicial digital repositories, and a standardised system for conversion of records.
Considering the importance of such records and the SOP, the court said that a robust system of responsibility and accountability must be developed and fostered in order to ensure the proper protection and regular updation of records that will eventually facilitate the smooth functioning of the judicial process.
The court order came as it set aside the conviction of a person in a corruption case by the Allahabad high court in 2022 even though the original trial court records were not traceable. Upholding conviction in the absence of original trial court records cannot be said to be in consonance with due process of law and fairness, said the bench, adding that Criminal Procedure Code also requires an appellate court to examine the original records.
“Protection of the rights under Article 21 entails protection of liberty from any restriction thereupon in the absence of fair legal procedure. Fair legal procedure includes the opportunity for the person filing an appeal to question the conclusions drawn by the trial court. The same can only be done when the record is available with the court of appeal,” held the bench, acquitting the man.
Phases I and II of the e-courts project, guided by the E-committee in assistance with the Union government, dealt with the basic process to facilitate digitisation of the judiciary, incorporating hardware installation, software ugradation and initiate e-filing, tracking cases online and uploading judgments online.
Phase-III of the project, which is yet to take off, proposes an “ecosystem approach” to justice delivery in which systems interact with one another. The vision document proposes a digital case registry, a database of case laws, intelligent scheduling, a digital case management framework, e-filing, and open digital proceedings, among other ambitious initiatives, which will be based on an intelligent system that makes decisions based on judicial data.
The centrally sponsored scheme with a timeline of four years was announced by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her latest Budget speech, announcing a financial outlay pegged at ₹7,210 crore.
According to the department of justice in the Union law ministry that is coordinating the implementation of Phase-III of the project, the government plans to digitise over 3,100 crore documents.
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