Source: Delhi High Court

Why in News?

• On 5^th August 2024 Hon’ble Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud launched the e-DHCR, a new portal for reportable judgments of Delhi High Court.
• This portal will contain judgments rendered by the Delhi High Court from the year 2007 to May 2024.
• It is a user friendly platform for reporting judgments of Delhi High Court.
• The portal was launched in the presence of CJI DY Chandrachud along with Supreme Court judge Justice Abhay S Oka and Delhi High Court Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Yashwant Varma.
• Justice Yashwant Varma is the Chairman of e-DHCR Committee.

What were the Observations of CJI DY Chandrachud?

• CJI DY Chandrachud said that this will mark a shift in ensuring the democratized dissemination of legal knowledge. The legal precedents and the judgments will now be available to anyone with the internet connection.
• CJI DY Chandrachud said that this will be a treasured resource for legal professionals, researchers, academics, and students.
• He said that the initiative will set new standards for transparency, accountability and inclusivity in the legal realm.

What did Acting Chief Justice Manmohan Say About the Platform?

• Justice Manmohan said that advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) search algorithm has been used in this platform to improve search accuracy which will help the users to navigate through legal information accurately.
• He observed that with the help of Supreme Court Vidhik Anuvaad Software, 16435 pages of judicial record available on e- DHCR portal have been translated. This has ensured language preferences in both English and Hindi.
• Thus, he said that the portal will help not only the young lawyers but also the law students not well versed in English.

What are Similar Initiatives?

• e- SCR Portal
  • The Electronic Supreme Court Reports (e-SCR) portal is a portal designed for various stakeholders to find out similar judgments.
  • It is an initiative to provide the digital version of the Supreme Court's judgments in the manner as they are reported in the official law report Supreme Court Reports.
  • Judgments from the inception of the Supreme Court in the year 1950 till date would be available on this platform.
  • The search facility in e-SCR provides for free text search, search within search, case type and case year search, Judge search, year and volume search bench strength search options.
  • The inbuilt elastic search facilitates quick and user-friendly search results.
  • The judgements will be available on the apex court website, its mobile app and on the judgment portal of the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG).
• Digital Courts 2.0
  • This uses AI for real time transcription of court proceedings.
  • It represents a significant leap towards efficient record keeping and judicial processes.
• FASTER (Fast and Secured Transmission of Electronic Records)
  • It is a digital platform to communicate interim orders, stay orders, bail orders etc., of the Supreme Court to authorities concerned through a secured electronic communication channel.
  • There have been cases where jail inmates are not released despite bail orders passed by the Supreme Court due to delay in communication of such orders.
  • So, it was needed to utilise information and communication technology tools for efficient transmission of court’s orders.
• SUPACE (Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Court’s Efficiency)
  • It is an AI based portal that is aimed at assisting judges with legal research.
  • It is a tool that collects relevant facts and laws and makes them available to a judge.
  • It is not designed to take decisions, but only to process facts and to make them available to judges looking for an input for a decision.
  • Initially, it will be used on an experimental basis by the judges of Bombay and Delhi High Courts who deal with criminal matters.
• e- Courts Project
  • Virtual Courts or e-Courts is a concept aimed at eliminating the presence of litigants or lawyers in the court and adjudication of the case online.
  • 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, for the District Courts across the country.
  • The judiciary system in India with the help of e-courts can overcome the challenges and make the service delivery mechanism transparent and cost-efficient.
• Draft Rules For Live Streaming of Court Proceedings
  • The Rules are part of the National Policy and Action Plan for implementation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the judiciary.
  • The Rules would cover live-streaming and recording of proceedings in High Courts, lower courts and tribunals.
  • The draft rules provide that all proceedings in high courts can be telecast except for cases relating to matrimonial disputes, gender-based violence, those involving minors and “cases, which in the opinion of the Bench, may provoke enmity amongst communities likely to result in a breach of law and order”.
• NJDG Portal
  • CJI DY Chandrachud in 2023 announced that now the Supreme Court’s data related to the pendency and disposal of cases will be available on the NJDG portal.
  • NJDG offers an extensive repository containing orders, judgments, and case particulars from District and Subordinate Courts, HCs and SC.
  • This web portal enables open access to statistics for all visitors.
  • Furthermore, NJDG functions as a decision support system, assisting courts in monitoring case delays based on various attributes, such as year wise, coram wise pending cases and pending cases in each branch of law such as civil, criminal etc.