Dr. B. C. Roy Engineering College Interim Report

8/21/2019 Dr. B. C. Roy Engineering College Interim Report

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INTERIM REPORT

Programme

NeGP MMP: eCourts

DR. B. C. ROY ENGINEERING COLLEGE

2013 -14

FOR

BY


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ttp://egov.engineeringwatch.in/

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INTRODUCTION

Before any Discussion about E-Courts we first need t o familiarize ourselves with

Traditional Court process and the need for E-Court.s First of all, any court process

deals with involvement of human resource of severa llevels of the governing body.

Refining the term Human Resource in this context rw e ef er to judges, lawyers,

police, victim, criminal / accused and also civilians. The court can deal with several

types of cases which may be Criminal or Civil in n ature. Though there are a lot of

variations, a very few common crimes are listed below.

Criminal Cases may include:

Financial Fraud

Bank Robbery

Counterfeiting

Kidnapping

Committing a crime on government property

Theft

Using unauthorized firearms

Civil Cases may include:

Suing for property damage

Issues regarding freedom of speech

Religious conicts

So it can said that a civil case is when two people t a kee each other to court, a

criminal case is when the city/state/federal government takes someone into court.

Now after this brief discussion regarding the basictraditional court process, we can

get further into the procedures and E-Court requirements and other issues.


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Interim Report on NeGP MMP: eCourtsPrepared by

eGov Campus: Dr. B. C. Roy Engineering College, Dur gapur

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HIERARCHY OF COURTS IN INDIA

Fig.1. shows the owchart depicting the hierarchy of courts in India. We can see

that Supreme Court is the highest priority court in India situated in Delhi. Next

come the High Courts, which are almost at every state of India, specifically one High

Court per one state.

Most low level of courts is District Courts and Local/Regional Courts where the first

filing of any case is taken into account.

HISTORY

The Indian judiciary comprises of nearly 15,000 courts situated in approximately

2,500 court complexes throughout the country. The total no. of pending cases in

these Courts as on 01.01.2005 was 2, 94, and 97,251.

In the Indian Judiciary, effort for computerization of some of its processes has been

going on since 1990. From 2001-03, 700 city courts in four metros were

computerized and during 2003-04, computerization of another 900 courts were

undertaken.

Need was felt to make the programme of ICT enablement of the Indian Judiciary

mission-critical. Under NeGP as a MMP, it is proposed to implement ICT in Indian

judiciary in three phases over a period of five years. The project scope is to develop,

deliver, install and implement automated decision making and decision support

system in 700 courts of Delhi, Bombay, Kolkata & Chennai; 900 courts in the 29

capital city courts of states and UTs and 13000 district and subordinate courts.

The e-Courts project was conceptualized on the basis of the National Policy and

Action Plan for Implementation of information and communication technology (ICT)

in


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Indian Judiciary 2005 submitted by e-Committee (Supreme Court of India),

with a vision to transform the Indian Judiciary by ICT enablement of Courts.

As on 31st January 2014, 13,227 district & subordinate have been computerized

in

the country. It is proposed to complete computerization of remaining Courts by

31st March, 2014. The basic infrastructure for ICT enablement consists of

various modules such as setting up of LAN and Hardware, deployment of Case

Information Software (CIS) application software, and establishment of WAN /

broadband connectivity.

MOST ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS

Managing the whole trial process of a court, when carried out electronically, deals

with the extensive use of secure networks and communication capabilities.

Most desirable management can be achieved if every layer of whole system ofgovernance can be assisted with same kind of technology and they must be

interconnected so as to provide transparency within governing sectors.

First of all there should exist a central database that will contain all the

necessary rules and as amendments occur they need to be updated every time.

The access to this database should be public, so as to maintain transparency of

governance.

Next there should exist a reference database that will contain all the references

lawyers use to carry out a trial. This database should be remotely available to all

the

courts and the regional changes in certain laws and reference should also be

attached within that. The update process of this database is critical as it will deal

with large amount of data which is of varied nature and proper authentication is

needed to successfully update it.


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Finally all the people of the governing body should have access to high tech

terminals so as to always monitor the process of e-trial. There must exist a strong

communication channel when remote trials are carried out or else delay can

convey wrong information leading to wrong judgments.

After all these there exists the security aspect. The databases must be protected

from illegal use and as all levels of governance will have access to them so there

must exist some access constraints, where most of the levels will have a read-only

access so that the sensitive data within the databases is not manipulated leading

to serious disorder in the trial process and will eventually affect the governance.

Below there is a brief discussion about what inuence can technology can have

over the traditional court system.

The system application is broadly categorized in four major privileges areas

interlinked with courtroom operations. They are Judge, Administrator, Courtroom

staff (Steno, Almad, Reader, etc.) and other users (like Public prosecutor, lawyers).Application features are made available as per there functions and defined roles

and responsibilities. Some of the major tasks of the entire workow are explained

below:

Digitization of Case files

A scanning room has been created inside the courtroom where case files are

brought first. The case files are then scanned & digitized and uploaded in

encrypted form on centralized storage server so that authorized person can access

the case files through the software interface. In earlier system, bringing the case

files from store room take lots of efforts which can be saved now. Here authorized

user can access the case files from anywhere on a single click.


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Paperless Deposition

The proceedings of court are completely paperless. The deposition is typed by steno

on computer and the draft deposition is visible to the Judge and to the lawyers on

their screen. Once the draft is approved, the deposition is then digitally signed by

Judge. This file is then uploaded & gets appended in to the case file.

Recording of court proceedingsThe court proceedings can be recorded with multiple high quality PTZ camera

through interface provided to Judge. The recordings are also kept in encrypted form

on server. The user can access these recordings from the software interface which

makes the user (Judge) ashback easily that what happened last time in this case

and easily track the progress of the case.

Video conferencing

Using video conferencing any person can give his/her deposition from remote place.

He/she just needs a video conferencing setup either hardware or software based

with internet connection. Initially three hospitals, FSL, two police stations and jail

are connected to e- Court for video conferencing. Producing accused/witness every

time in court consumes enormous amount of resources (transportation cost,

security time and manpower etc) of the government, Using Video conferencing, they

can give their deposition from hospitals and jails.

Evidences capture

Technology provided imaging solutions for evidences and documents to court. The

images from police, hospitals reports etc. can be uploaded from camera or any other

imaging source. There is one visualizer to view & capture evidences and indexed

with the in court case records.

Provision for DVD writing


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If any person (lawyer or concerned person) wants digital documents or videos of

case, there is provision of providing required data on a CD/DVD, instead of using

volatile storage devices.

Data sharing from remote location

The police, hospital staff and other civil places can remotely upload the documents

or view the documents.

Court live proceedings

The courts live proceedings can be seen on courts website by authorized person. If

any person (lawyer or concerned person) wants to see live proceedings, he/she has

to fill an online Registration form and after reviewing the application by

administrator, access can be given to person for the particular case.

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS

The different layers of governance should be assisted by technically skilled people so

that no error occurs because of technical difficulties.

Every level should be made aware in the basics of using any technology based on

computers which will help them to co-relate themselves during a trial in the court.

An e-filing system should be implemented which will allow any person to lodge a

complaint against any crime online instead of going to the police station as the first

step. This will be a much faster way to make the police aware of any crime. Though

only filing a report online will not do, there must be a physical presence of both the

witness/person who lodges the complaint and the police officials at a later stage but

as an initial step the e-filing which the first step of the e-court process is much more

effective.


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Application software

This software is to be developed by NIC under the guidance of e-committee.NIC aims

at designing a unified software and schema so that this would help in integration of

the courts and easy transfer of cases between different courts.

Application software will be based on common data structures and functionality.

the commonly used platforms for developing these softwares are oracle php ,mysql

in the front end and PERL , PSP, ASP in the back end.

Technical manpower

Skilled professionals will be deployed at the courts to train the judges and the court

staffs and to maintain the ICT infrastructures such as printers, scanners LAN,

internet connectivity, communication devices, etc

Technical Basics Workshops

All the traditional Human Resource involved in the court process must be trained by

technically sound professionals so that they can be aware about the working and

functionality of any application software used in the trial process.This is must to

ensure that no human defined error happens during any court proceedings.Though

there are technical people's assistance throughout any court process, but it is

essential that every person involved should be made a tech savvy so as to keep a

constant and uid work-ow.

DESIREABLE REQUIREMENTS

After all the above discussions still there is a lot to be done when met with the

actual circumstances. Changing a entire traditional system suddenly with electronic

system will not be a feasible solution when all of the human resource belonging to

the traditional governance is unaware of the usage of the advanced technology and


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they must either learn it completely or can work with the guidance of skilled

technical hands.

The security aspects are a major issue while maintaining the reference database and

knowledge base, advanced encryption must be implemented to protect the data from

being manipulated by external media. The traditional governance cannot provide

security to the digital system, rather they can help it to sustain and work effectively.

Finally it is sure that implementation of e-courts is effective and fast but both the

traditional and digital domains must merge and work collaboratively to successfully

run this service.

Computer Server rooms (CSR) Judicial Service Centers (JSC) would set up in all the

court complexes. All judicial officers would be provided with laptops. Digital

interconnectivity

would be established between all courts from the taluka level to the

apex court. The project also aims at creation of e-filing facility in the Supreme Court

& high courts. The first phase also envisages development of comprehensive &

integrated Customized software application for the entire judicial system with

regional languages support.

It would be possible to provide ICT coverage of judicial process from filing to

execution level & also of all administrative activities and creation of information

gateways between courts, public agencies & departments. The project is expected to

lead to complete demystification of the adjudicatory process thereby ensuring

transparency, accountability & cost-effectiveness.

TRIALS AT A GLANCE

Fig.2. clearly depicts a court trial procedure in step by step manner. This particular

diagram specifically focuses on a Criminal Trial, but as for any civil trial, most of it


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is in a generalized way, so any civil trial will be up to some extent same as this as

shown.

eCOURTS CONCEPT CATEGORIZATION - MOST ESSENTIAL

Advocate

A person authorized to appear in a litigation on behalf of a party. An advocate

possesses a law degree and is enrolled with a Bar Council, as prescribed by the

Advocates Act, 1961. Advocates are the only class of persons legally entitled to

practice law. They provide legal advice.

Challan

It is the police report filed under Section 173(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure,

1973 after making investigation into the commission of an offence.

Cause List

List issued by the Registry of the matters to be heard by the court on any day. The

bench, courtroom number and the position of the matter are indicated.

The cause list may

take myriad forms: weekly list, advance list, supplementary list

and the daily list.

Cause Title

Title of the case giving the number of the case and the names of the parties.

Epistolary Jurisdiction

A term referring to change in the procedure of the courts allowing letters to be

treated as writ petitions.

Notification


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Notice, information or announcement published in the official gazette notifying, for

instance, the coming into effect of a changed law.

Registry

This is the administrative machinery of a Court which deals with the filing,

registering and listing of cases, issuing copies of orders and notices to parties,

maintaining and preserving records. The Registry is also responsible for themaintenance and security of the court premises. It is headed by a Registrar General

or a Registrar.

eCOURTS CONCEPT CATEGORIZATION - ESSENTIAL

Admission

After a case is registered it is placed before the Court for its hearing, known as the

preliminary hearing. The Court considers whether the case should be proceeded

with by directing the respondents to show -cause why the petition should not be

admitted.

Adversarial Procedure

A way of adjudicating a dispute in which one party asserts a claim or a right, and

the other denies it. The dispute is usually resolved by the acceptance of one claim

and the rejection of the other, making the proceedings adversarial. This is

recognized in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the Indian Evidence Act, 1872

and the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. See inquisitorial proceedings.

Affidavit

This is a sworn statement made by a party, in writing, made in the presence of an

oath commissioner or a notary public which is used either in support of applications


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to the Court or as evidence in court proceedings. In writ jurisdiction, cases are

generally disposed of on the basis of affidavits.

Commission

A commission is appointed by a court to ascertain or investigate facts needed to

decide a case. A commission is usually given specific terms of reference. Members of

a commission have been chosen from amongst experts, academics, social

activists/workers, advocates, judges and others. Costs of the commission are

usually borne by the State. Such commissions have often been appointed in PILs.

Court Master

An officer of the court who occupies a seat just below the judges Dias and assists in

the conduct of proceedings.

Grounds

These are the reasons or justifications in law, stated in a petition to a court, on the

basis of which reliefs are asked from the Court.

Inquisitorial Proceedings

Fact-finding proceedings, not necessarily involving disputing parties. The Court

investigates and ascertains the facts of a matter, for instance by appointing

Commissions, which are given specific terms of reference. Often faced with difficulty

in getting all the information necessary to resolve the issues brought in PIL, the

Court has found this procedure to be convenient.

Interim Order

Any order by a court before a final order is made.

Judicial Review


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A term that describes the function of the judiciary being able to examine and

correct

the actions of all the organs of Statethe executive, the legislature and the

judiciary

itself. Judicial review is part of the basic structure of the Indian Constitution.

Junior Advocate

Any advocate, who wants to practice law, enrolls with a Bar Council and generally

begins work in the office of a practicing advocate.

Jurisdiction

This indicates the scope and extent of a courts powers. For instance, a court only

has territorial jurisdiction within the territory over which its powers extend.

Stay Order

A party filing a petition may require some immediate relief, even before the

respondents can be heard or a final decision given. An application is filed seeking

an interim order either to prevent the respondents from performing an action that

will affect the rights of the petitioner or to prevent an order from being carried out.

eCOURTS CONCEPT CATEGORIZATION - DESIRABLE

e-Reference

E-reference can be used as term to imply any reference which is stored

electronically that is required at the time of trial by the advocate or lawyer.

e-Files

E-files refers to the electronically stored files containing laws and rules which are

constantly updated over time and monitored for any amendments and these E-files

can be the main source of information regarding any court issue or trial process.


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EXISTENCE OF E-COURT

In North-East India, under Gauhati High Court, Kamrup District court of Assam is

being considered as the pilot site under e-Courts project. The Site preparation work

including ICT room construction, deployment and installation of various Hardware

and Networking items including Touch screen Kiosk information systems,

implementation of CIS software are already done in various court complexes inKamrup district as well as in various district courts. Various objectives under e-

Courts project has already been attained in Kamrup district Judiciary. The Judges

and court staffs are being trained on various modules of e-Courts project. The

Judges are being provided with personal laptop, laser printer and internet

connectivity under the e-Courts project. The website for Kamrup District Judiciary

has already been hosted by the name www.kamrupjudiciary.gov.in and is being

fully functional. Daily causelists, judgments and various key informations are being

uploaded on daily basis. Kiosks Information Systems are being installed in various

court complexes under Kamrup district judiciary, which helps the litigants and

lawyers not only to search the case status using either case number and year or

petitioner/respondents name but also to check daily orders and judgments.

The major developments under e-Courts project are already being completed in

Kamrup District Judiciary and hence witnessing the work progress, on 27th

September 2011, Honble Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court, Mr. M. B. Lokur in

presence of the other Honble Judges of Gauhati High Court inaugurated the ICT

rooms, Kiosk Information Systems and the Kamrup District Judiciary website of

various court complexes under Kamrup district.

OUTCOME OF E-COURT

The entire existing files in Karkardooma e-Court have been digitized and a touch


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screen has been installed on the dais of Judge. He can view any file of the e-Court in

digitized form by searching for the same date-wise, name-wise or Act/Section wise.

There is a provision of a document visualizer and any document can be projected on

the LCD Screens installed in the e-Court, so that the same are visible to the

accused, witnesses or the prosecutor in the same Court, as well as when they are

connected through Video-Conferencing. Other stakeholders of the case can have

access to e-Files using secure login and password. The overall impact ofestablishment of e-Court will result in quick disposal of cases, ease of record

maintenance, reliability of the evidence recorded and to bring more transparency in

the functioning of the District Courts.

OTHER BENEFITS

Reduced paper work.

Ease of record maintenance i.e. Alow the judges to see e-files for review.

Can be used by judge, judicial fraternity to review the case.

Use as a backup by concern persons who have some doubt about the

authenticity of the documents.

Different courts will be able to share the information online.

Playback live proceedings for court audience.

Use of digital signature & encryption for integrity of documents.

Tool for Education & Training of judicial officers and courtroom personnel.

Doctors need not to cancel appointments for critical/emergency patients.

Court, Hospitals, FSL, Jail can simultaneously share their

presentations/documents and other information online in a secured mode.

Remote parties can depose through Video Conferencing facility using ISDN

and Broadband links in e-Court.

The documents of high secrecy which cannot be moved out of the department

but needs to be shared with other agencies can be directly presented and


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discussed upon.

System will increase physical security of doctors by not visiting the court

thereby avoiding any physical presence in front of the accused or criminals.

Doctors can depose and give expert opinion in much more relaxed and

conducive environment.

System can be used for other medical benefits other than the judicial matters.

Travel and other related cost will be saved.

Efficient Data management through the Application Software. The main

benefits of proper Data management approach includes daily causelist and

court diary generation, periodical statements, automatic marking of cases,

year wise judge-wise casetype-wise pending case statements generation,

provisions are also made to generate automated summons, warrants and

notice generation all at the press of a single button.

CONCLUSION

This is a state-of-the-art technique for introducing ICT in Indian courts for digitally

preserving case files and visual information in chronological sequence. The design

will help our judicial system to streamline and accelerate their operation and case

disposal rate in secure and cost effective manner.

With the growth of Information and Communication technology in India, it is just a

matter of time how fast the e-Courts works will grow in Judiciary System in India.

But with the Judges and court staffs being serious and more concerned in todays

working environments, nothing seems to be impossible and the goal of the e-

Courts project could be attained soon.

Fast and fair trial has always been a long awaited dream for the citizens in India.

The experience of a person undergoing trial has never been pleasant so far. Hence


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hoped that in the coming time, e-Courts will prove to be a landmark in the life of the

there is a need of ICT enablement of Indian Judiciary for trails to be quicker. It is

people and transform their anticipations into reality.

ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig.1. Flowchart depicting the hierarchy of courts in India


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Fig.2. Court trial procedure

Dr. B. C. Roy Engineering College Interim Report

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