Information and communication technology (ICT) has many pro active and useful purposes. In the context of judicial functioning of India, ICT can bring many far reaching judicial reforms in India. Role of ICT for judicial reforms of India is no more a novel concept but a well accepted fact. However, despite this realisation, e-courts in India have failed to be established. Till the month of April 2011, we are still waiting for the establishment of first e-court of India. In the name of e-courts, India has just computerised some of the traditional courts litigation and administration systems. By and large, e-judiciary in India is still an unfulfilled dream.
According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi base techno legal ICT law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India, E-Courts in India have still to see the light of the day. India is still at the first stage of Computerisation of some of the aspects of Courts. Full fledged E-Filling, Submission of Plaints and Documents Online, Online Evidence Producing, etc are still missing, informs Dalal.
Establishment of e-court would require tremendous domain specific techno-legal expertise and in the absence of the same e-courts project is bound to fail. We have a single and exclusive techno legal e-courts training and consultancy centre of India. The centre provides techno legal assistance for establishment, maintenance and upgradation of e-courts infrastructure all over the world.
The present e-court infrastructure of India needs rejuvenation. We do have a legal enablement of ICT systems in India. Till a legal framework conducive for techno legal development of Indian judiciary is not established, legal and judicial systems of India have little incentives to adopt technology. In short, we need legal enablement of ICT systems in India.
Further, judicial e-infrastructure of India also needs rejuvenation. The moment e-filing, presentation, contest and adjudication of the cases in an online environment would start, India would surely be capable of establishing e-courts. In the absence of these capabilities, we have to wait for few more years to get speedier justice in India.
