India’s courts have computerised 18,735 district and subordinate courts. The current phase now aims for something bigger: paperless courts, run partly by AI.
Timeline
- 2011–2015 (Phase I): 14,249 district and subordinate courts are computerised. Video conferencing links 493 court complexes to 347 jails.
- 2015–2023 (Phase II): 18,735 courts are computerised in total. The National Judicial Data Grid, e-filing, and 1,057 eSewa Kendras go live.
- 13 September 2023: The Union Cabinet approves Phase III, with a ₹7,210 crore outlay over four years.
- 11–12 April 2026: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant formally launches Phase III at a national conference in New Delhi.
Must Know
- The e-Courts Mission Mode Project is the Indian judiciary’s digitisation programme, part of the National e-Governance Plan.
- It’s implemented by the Department of Justice, working with the e-Committee of the Supreme Court of India.
- It has run in three phases: Phase I (2011–2015), Phase II (2015–2023), and Phase III (2023–2027, ongoing).
- Phase III was approved with a ₹7,210 crore outlay over four years, more than four times Phase II’s budget.
- By the end of Phase II, 18,735 district and subordinate courts had been computerised across India.
Good to Know
- Phase I (₹935 crore outlay) focused on basics: computer hardware, internet connectivity, and training judicial officers on the new systems.
- Phase II (₹1,670 crore outlay) built citizen-facing tools. Its National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) gave online access to over 26 crore cases and orders.
- Phase II also rolled out 1,057 eSewa Kendras, help centres for litigants who can’t afford technology or live far from a court. It added 28 Virtual Courts too, for traffic-challan cases.
- Phase III’s components include digitising 3,108 crore pages of legacy case records, building cloud infrastructure, and expanding eSewa Kendras to a target of 4,400.
- Phase III also introduces Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning tools, meant to support data-based case scheduling and prioritisation for judges.
- Funds under the project go to High Courts, not directly to state governments, since High Courts are the actual implementing agency in each state.
Current Affairs
- 7 August 2026: A government factsheet showed the e-Courts Mission Mode Project had advanced further since the January 2026 figures below — digitised pages crossed 753 crore, and cumulative video-conferencing hearings reached 4.18 crore, across 7,553 linked establishments including courts, jails, and hospitals.
- The e-Filing platform has processed over 1.25 crore case filings since inception, along with ₹1,404 crore in court-fee e-payments and ₹75 crore in fines.
- Court proceedings are now livestreamed in 11 High Courts. The project’s Virtual Courts, for online traffic-challan adjudication, have grown to 31, handling 11.33 crore challans worth ₹1,135.79 crore.
- Nyaya Shruti, launched in 2024 under the Inter-operable Criminal Justice System, lets the accused, witnesses, police, prosecutors, and prisoners testify virtually.
- Of Phase III’s ₹7,210 crore outlay, ₹53.57 crore is set aside for AI and ML tools. Pilots include LegRAA (Legal Research and Analysis Assistant) for judges, AI transcription of Constitutional Bench arguments, and “Digital Courts 2.1” for fully paperless case management.
- Judgments are being translated into 18 Indian languages via the eSCR portal. Over 83,000 had been translated by March 2025, more than 36,000 of them into Hindi.
- 25 July 2026: The Law Ministry gave the Lok Sabha further updates on eCourts Phase III and judicial infrastructure, across several states.
- In Punjab, e-Filing 3.0 has been implemented in all District Courts, with virtual-hearing infrastructure provided under eCourts Phase III. (Source: PIB)
- In Andhra Pradesh, the Centre issued a ₹8.79 crore Mother Sanction for FY 2026-27, under the judicial-infrastructure Centrally Sponsored Scheme, running since 1993-94 and now extended to 30 September 2026. (Source: PIB)
- In Madhya Pradesh, 67 Fast Track Special Courts, including 56 exclusive POCSO Courts, are functional under the FTSC scheme. (Source: PIB)
- The Union Budget 2026 allocated ₹2,010 crore for judicial modernisation: ₹810 crore for court infrastructure, and ₹1,200 crore for eCourts Phase III. (Source: PIB)
- Nationally, Case Information System (CIS) 4.0 is now live in all courts, integrated with NJDG, e-filing, virtual courts, and the Inter-operable Criminal Justice System. Courts have received over 35.57 lakh FIRs and 38.36 lakh chargesheets digitally from CCTNS. A new eSummons system delivers summons electronically, and a Judicial Digital Trustworthy Repository now stores digitised records permanently. The JustIS app, for judges, has been downloaded over 22,534 times. (Source: PIB)
- In Karnataka, sanctioned judge strength stood at 1,398, with 1,278 court halls and 1,199 residential units available. In Himachal Pradesh, sanctioned strength was 192, with 180 court halls and 161 residential units, as of 31 May 2026. (Source: PIB)
- In Odisha, 16 ADR Centres are functioning across 16 districts, including Ganjam and Kandhamal. The remaining 14 districts, including Boudh and Nayagarh, are served by Mediation Centres under the District Legal Services Authority. (Source: PIB)
- 23 July 2026: In written Rajya Sabha replies, the Law Ministry detailed four judiciary-related updates.
- In Odisha, 817 of 845 courts have been equipped with ICT hardware under e-Courts Phase III. As of 30 June 2026, 42.96 lakh legacy case records (24.17 crore pages) had been digitised across the state. (Source: PIB)
- 775 Fast Track Special Courts, including 398 exclusive POCSO courts, were functional across 29 States/UTs as of 30 April 2026. The Centre has released ₹1,259.51 crore to states under the scheme since its inception. (Source: PIB)
- The number of eSewa Kendras, citizen-facilitation centres for digital court services, rose to 2,584 across 25 High Courts by 30 June 2026, up from the 2,444 recorded in January. (Source: PIB)
- The DISHA legal-aid scheme has been extended as DISHA 2.0, for 2026-31. In Jammu & Kashmir, its Tele-Law service had given 7.63 lakh pre-litigation legal-advice consultations by 30 June 2026. (Source: PIB)
- 11–12 April 2026: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant formally launched Phase III at a two-day National Conference on Judicial Digital Transformation in New Delhi. New tools released there included a mobile app update and Single Sign-On services for court portals.
- As of 31 January 2026 (a written Rajya Sabha reply), 660.36 crore pages of court records had been digitised. 2,444 eSewa Kendras were operational nationwide, on the way to Phase III’s 4,400 target.
- By the same date, courts had conducted a cumulative 3.97 crore hearings through video conferencing since the project began.
- 29 June 2026: Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal launched a Fresh Application Module on the Notary Portal, for online Notary Public appointments under the Notaries Act, 1952.
- The module, built by the Department of Legal Affairs with the National Informatics Centre, lets eligible advocates apply online with automated workflows, replacing a paper-based process.
- The Ministry framed it as part of the wider Digital India push toward paperless, citizen-centric governance; applications open periodically based on need.
Test Yourself
Great to Know
- This programme is distinct from the judiciary’s structure and appointments process. See Polity0029 — The Judiciary: Structure and Judicial Appointments for how judges themselves are appointed.
- An independent evaluation of Phase II, by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), found reduced case pendency and high satisfaction among judges. It also found a steady decline in cases pending over five years.
- The three phases show a clear shift in ambition. Phase I asked “can courts get online,” and Phase II asked “can citizens use this.” Phase III now asks “can the system get smarter.”
- Routing Phase III’s funds through High Courts, rather than state governments, reflects India’s judiciary structure. High Courts, not state executives, administer the lower courts within their jurisdiction.
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