Key Terms & Concepts — UPSC Mains
eCourts Project (Mission Mode Project on ICT in Judiciary)
"A pan-India mission-mode project of the Department of Justice that uses information and communication technology to computerise district and subordinate courts, digitise case data, and provide citizen-facing services like e-filing, virtual hearings and the National Judicial Data Grid."
The eCourts Project is one of the National e-Governance Mission Mode Projects implemented by the Department of Justice (Ministry of Law and Justice) under the supervision of the e-Committee of the Supreme Court of India, chaired by a Supreme Court judge. Its objective is to use information and communication technology (ICT) to make the Indian judiciary more accessible, efficient and transparent, especially at the district and subordinate court level. The project has been rolled out in three phases. Phase I (2011-2015, outlay Rs 935 crore) computerised over 14,000 district and subordinate courts, established the basic Local Area Network and Wide Area Network, and migrated case data to the unified Case Information System (CIS). Phase II (2015-2023, outlay Rs 1,670 crore) launched the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), e-filing, e-payment, virtual courts for traffic challans, and the Justice mobile app. Phase III, approved by the Union Cabinet in September 2023 with an outlay of Rs 7,210 crore over four years, is currently underway. It focuses on digitising legacy case records, expanding live-streaming, deploying AI tools for case-flow management, and creating a digital case registry interoperable with police, prison and forensic databases (the 'One Case One Data' vision). Flagship services include: National Judicial Data Grid (real-time pending case dashboard), Supreme Court Vidhik Anuvaad Software (SUVAS) for Hindi and vernacular translation of judgments, Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Courts Efficiency (SUPACE) AI assistant, virtual courts (Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai etc.), and e-filing 3.0. The Project is also the backbone for the Digital India Initiative inside the justice sector.
Important for UPSC GS2 (Polity -- judicial reform, governance, transparency) and GS3 (e-Governance, cybersecurity). Examiners test the implementing agency (Department of Justice + Supreme Court e-Committee), Phase III outlay (Rs 7,210 crore, approved 2023), key deliverables (NJDG, e-filing, virtual courts), and recent additions (SUPACE, SUVAS, Su-Sahayak AI). Mains angles cover judicial backlog (over 5 crore pending cases), access to justice, digital divide concerns, and data privacy under DPDP Act.
- 1 Mission Mode Project under Department of Justice, supervised by SC e-Committee
- 2 Phase I (2011-2015, Rs 935 crore) -- computerised 14,000-plus subordinate courts
- 3 Phase II (2015-2023, Rs 1,670 crore) -- launched NJDG, e-filing, virtual courts
- 4 Phase III (2023-2027, Rs 7,210 crore) -- AI tools, live-streaming, One Case One Data
- 5 National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG): live dashboard of pending and disposed cases
- 6 SUVAS: AI translation of judgments into Hindi and 9 vernacular languages
- 7 SUPACE: AI assistant for judges (Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Courts Efficiency)
- 8 Virtual Courts: handle traffic challans 24x7 in Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad
- 9 Underpins One Case One Data -- single digital ID linking police FIR, court case, prison record
On 11 May 2026, CJI launched 'Su-Sahayak', an AI-powered case-management assistant under eCourts Phase III, and announced the One Case One Data architecture. Each case will now carry a unique digital ID from FIR registration through trial, appeal and execution, with real-time status feeding into NJDG -- aiming to address the over 5 crore pending cases in Indian courts.
