National Judicial Data Grid

• 16 Sep 2023

Source: PIB

Why in News?

Recently, the Supreme Court has integrated its case data on the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDC).

• The integration with NJDG as part of an 'Open Data Policy (ODP)' to provide transparent case information to the public.
• ODP is increasingly a set of policies - that promotes transparency, accountability, and value creation by making government data available to all.

What is the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG)?

• About:
  • The NJDG portal is a national repository of data relating to cases instituted, pending, and disposed of by the courts across the country.
  • It is a database of orders, judgments and case details of 18,735 District and subordinate Courts and High Courts created as an online platform under the e-Courts Project.
  • Its key feature is that the data is updated in real-time and has granular data up to the Taluka level.
    • It was built as part of Phase II of the e-Courts project, which is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
  • Currently, litigants can access case status information of 23.81 crore cases and more than 23.02 crore orders/judgments.
• Developed By:
  • The platform has been developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) in close coordination with the in-house software development team of the Computer Cell, Registry of the Supreme Court (SC) with an interactive interface and analytics dashboard.
• Significance:
  • NJDG works as a monitoring tool to identify, manage & reduce pendency of cases.
  • It helps identify specific bottlenecks in judicial processes. For example, if the number of land disputes in a particular state shoots up, it helps policymakers look into whether the law needs to be strengthened.
  • It also helps generate inputs related to particular areas of law. For example, to track cases related to land disputes, Land Records data of 26 States have been linked with NJDG.

What is the Current Pandency Status of Cases?

• For the year 2023, the total pendency of registered cases in SC is 64,854.
• In SC, there are 5,412 cases filed and 5033 cases disposed in August 2023.
• There are 583 three-judge Bench matters, 288 five-judge Bench cases, 21 seven-judge Bench cases, and 135 nine-judge Bench cases, all of which are civil, pending in the Supreme Court.

What are the Other Initiatives under E-court Projects?

• Case Information Software (CIS)
• Virtual Courts
• Video-conferencing (VC).
• National Service and Tracking of Electronic Processes (NSTEP)
• Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Court’s Efficiency

For Legal Insights, click here

https://www.drishtijudiciary.com/

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Question (PYQ)

Q. In India, Judicial Review implies (2017)

(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.

(d) the power of the Judiciary to review its own judgements given earlier in similar or different cases.

Ans: (a)