Why in news?

• The High Court of Punjab and Haryana to launch its first virtual court (e-Court) at Faridabad.

Highlights:

• The e-Court would deal with traffic challan cases from across the State.
• The project will be launched under the guidance of e-Committee of the Supreme Court of India.
• Virtual courts will remove the need for the litigant to be present in the court and facilitate adjudication of the case online through the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

E-committee:

• E-committee is a body constituted by the Government of India in pursuance of a proposal received from the supreme court of India for assistance in formulating a National policy on computerization of Indian Judiciary and advise on technological communication and management related changes.
• The E-Committee was set up in 2004 to provide a guide map for the use of I-T and administrative reforms in the judiciary.

e-Courts Project:

• 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 the Indian Judiciary – 2005”submitted by e-Committee, Supreme Court of India with a vision to transform the Indian Judiciary by ICT enablement of Courts.
• The e-Courts Mission Mode Project, is a Pan-India Project, monitored and funded by the Department of Justice,Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India for the District Courts across the country.
• The following are the functions of e-Courts Project:
• To provide efficient & time-bound citizen-centric services delivery as detailed in e-Court Project Litigant’s Charter.
• To develop, install & implement decision support systems in courts.
• To automate the processes to provide transparency in the accessibility of information to its stakeholders.
• To enhance judicial productivity, both qualitatively & quantitatively, to make the justice delivery system affordable, accessible, cost-effective, predictable, reliable and transparent.