Supreme Court to soon come under National Judicial Data Grid platform. What does it mean?

Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud on Thursday announced that the Supreme Court will soon integrate with the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) platform, which functions as an online repository of data related to the backlog of cases and the pace at which courts at various levels, from taluka to the national level, process and resolve these cases.

“A small announcement. It is a historic day. It is a unique and informative platform which is developed by the NIC and in house team of Supreme Court. Now at the click of a button you can see real time information on pendency and disposal of cases, year-wise, total pendency of registered and unregistered cases, number of cases decided quorum- wise,” the CJI said.

He emphasised that the inclusion of data in the NJDG will establish "transparency and accountability within the realm of the judiciary." Until now, the platform has been collecting data only up to the level of high courts, and now the top court will be uploading cases to the platform in real-time.

What is National Judicial Data Grid?

-The National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) is an online database which was establised as part of the “eCourts Project” in 2020. According to the data from ministry of law and justice, the platform contains records of orders, judgments, and case details from 18,735 district and subordinate courts, as well as high courts across India.

-Data in the NJDG is updated in near real-time by the connected district and taluka courts, ensuring that the information is current and up-to-date.

-The NJDG serves as a comprehensive source of information on legal proceedings and decisions from computerised district and subordinate courts throughout the country. High courts are also integrated into the NJDG through web services, making it easier for the public to access this data.

-Utilising elastic search technology, the eCourts services platform allows litigants to access case status information for a vast number of cases. As of the latest data available, this includes over 23.81 crore cases and more than 23.02 crore orders and judgments.

-The NJDG provides case data for both civil and criminal cases, offering the capability to perform in-depth analysis based on factors such as the age of the case, as well as sorting and filtering by state and district.

How does it help with the pending cases?

The NJDG operates as a monitoring tool with the primary functions of identifying, managing, and reducing case backlog. It plays a crucial role in providing timely information to inform policy decisions aimed at expediting case resolutions and ultimately reducing pending cases.

The platform also enhances the ability to monitor court performance, identify systemic issues, and effectively manage resources within the judicial system. Furthermore, in the context of land disputes, NJDG has integrated Land Records data from 26 States to track related cases.