The Supreme Court has recently integrated its case information with the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) in an effort to promote transparency and accountability. This move falls under the ‘Open Data Policy’ which is a set of policies that aim to provide the public with accessible government data. The integration involves sharing key data about cases, judgments and other pertinent info.
Understanding the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG)
The NJDG acts as a national repository containing information related to cases instigated, pending, and disposed of by courts across India. As of now, it includes case details from 18,735 District and Subordinate Courts and High Courts. It is an online platform created under the e-Courts Project and boasts of real-time updates with detailed data up to the Taluka level. It is a product of Phase II of the e-Courts project, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme. To date, litigants can access case statuses of over 23.81 crore cases along with more than 23.02 crore orders/judgments.
Development and Key Features of NJDG
NJDG was developed by the National Informatics Centre in close coordination with the internal software development team of the Computer Cell, Registry of the Supreme Court. It features an interactive interface and analytics dashboard, making it user-friendly and efficient. One of the key uses of NJDG is it allows for monitoring to identify, manage and reduce the pendency of cases. The tool also helps identify specific bottlenecks in judicial processes and aids in strengthening laws based on the patterns observed. For instance, to track land dispute cases, Land Records data of 26 states have now been linked with NJDG.
Current Scenario of Case Pendancy
As of 2023, there are 64,854 cases pending in the Supreme Court. In August 2023, 5,412 new cases were filed and 5,033 cases were disposed of. A detailed breakdown shows that there are 583 three-judge Bench matters, 288 five-judge Bench cases, 21 seven-judge Bench cases and 135 nine-judge Bench cases pending in the Supreme Court, and they are all civil.
Other Initiatives under the E-Court Project
The e-Court project has also launched several other initiatives to make the judicial process smoother and more efficient. These include the Case Information Software (CIS), Virtual Courts, Video-conferencing (VC) facilities, National Service and Tracking of Electronic Processes (NSTEP) and the Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Court’s Efficiency.
Past UPSC Civil Services Examination Question
Dating back to 2017, a question asked in the UPSC Civil Services Examination was, “In India, Judicial Review implies?” The options given were: a) the power of the Judiciary to pronounce upon the constitutionality of laws and executive orders, b) the power of the Judiciary to question the wisdom of the laws enacted by the Legislatures, c) the power of the Judiciary to review all the legislative enactments before they are assented to by the President, and d) the power of the Judiciary to review its own judgments given earlier in similar or different cases. The correct answer was option a).
