1. Appointment and transfer of Judges:

• 110 Judges were appointed in the High Courts - Allahabad (09), Andhra Pradesh (06), Bombay (09), Chhattisgarh (02), Delhi (05), Gauhati (05), Gujarat (08), Himachal Pradesh (03), Karnataka (05), Kerala (03), Madhya Pradesh (14), Madras (13), Manipur (02), Meghalaya (01), Orissa (02), Patna (02), Punjab & Haryana (04), Rajasthan (09), Telangana (03), Tripura (02) and Uttarakhand (03)
• 72 Additional Judges made Permanent Judges in High Courts - Allahabad (17), Bombay (09), Calcutta (04), Chhattisgarh (01), Delhi (01), Gauhati (06), Karnataka (02) Kerala (05), Madras (10), P&H (17)
• Tenure of 02 Additional Judges of High Courts was extended - Bombay (01) and Karnataka (01)
• 22 Chief Justices in various High Courts were appointed - Allahabad, Andhra Pradesh, Bombay, Calcutta, Chhattisgarh, Gauhati, Gujarat, Jharkhand, J&K and Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madras, Manipur, Orissa, Patna, Rajasthan, Telangana, Tripura and Uttarakhand.
• 34 High Court Judges were transferred from one High Court to another.

1. Tele-law:

• During the Year 2023-2024 the Tele-Law has been expanded to cover 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats across 766 districts (including 112 aspirational districts) in 36 states and UTs. About 700 Lawyers engaged to provide pre litigation advice. As on 30th November, 2023, 24 lakh + beneficiaries have been provided with legal advice and consultation.
• District Level Workshop - 100 District Level workshops were organized across the country by Tele-Law State Team, these workshops were attended by 5500+ participants including Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE), Para Legal Volunteer (PLV), government officials and members from SLSAs/DLSAs. Sessions were conducted on Tele-Law implementation, awareness on the Tele-Law scheme and Tele-Law Citizen's Mobile App.
• Special Awareness drive by VLEs: Initiatives were undertaken by Tele-Law VLEs to conduct special awareness camps in pockets of their region where awareness on Tele-Law is limited or zero awareness. VLEs made special efforts by using various mode of transport such as e-rickshaw, Mobile vans, Auto-rickshaw, Motorcycle, Bicycle etc. to spread awareness on Tele-Law. 12000+ citizens participated in the awareness camps.
• Special backlog clearance drive was launched to reach out to 1.5 lakh unattended and pending cases registered under Tele-Law on the Tele-Law Portal from 26th June to 2nd July 2023 where more than 1,05,771 provided by Tele-Law Panel Lawyers.
• Selfie Drive Campaign - This initiative has been launched to promote awareness on social media sites, where beneficiaries and field functionaries (VLE & Panel Lawyers) share their experiences through selfie/videos on Tele law service. As of 30th November 2023, total 217 selfie/videos were uploaded on Tele Law social media sites (Facebook & Twitter).
• New Radio Jingle campaign launched (1st August till 31st August 2023: New Radio Jingle released and aired on All India radio (201 stations), Vividh Bharti (42 station) and FM radio in (29 station).
• Launch of Tele-Law 2.0 (Integration of Tele-Law and Nyaya Bandhu (Pro Bono) Legal Services programme) and achievement of 50 Lakh Legal advices event was held on 25th August 2023 at Siri fort Auditorium in the presence of Hon'ble Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law & Justice. During the event the integration of Tele-Law and Nyaya Bandhu Services was launched (Tele-Law 2.0), Voices of Beneficiaries (4th edition) and Awardee's Catalogue were released. 12 Frontline functionaries from 6 regions across the country were felicitated by the Hon'ble Minister.

1. National Legal Services Authority (NALSA):

• 19^th All India Legal Services Authorities Meet was inaugurated by Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud, Chief Justice of India and Patron-in-Chief, National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) on 30^th June, 2023 in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir.The02 day event held on 30^th June, 2023 and 1^st July, 2023was organised by the Jammu & Kashmir Legal Services Authority under the aegis of National Legal Services Authority. The future course of action for Legal Services Authorities, setting targets, addressing various challenges and implementing steps to strengthen and streamline legal aid programs in the country were discussed during the meet.
• The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), with the approval of the Hon'ble Chief Justice of India and the support of Government of India, organized the 1^st Regional Conference on Access to Legal Aid: Strengthening Access to Justice, on 27 & 28 November, 2023, in collaboration with the International Legal Foundation (ILF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Over the course of two days, a total of 16 sessions were conducted on different themes of access to legal aid and access to justice. This was the first of the kind of gathering wherein Chief Justices, Judges, Ministers, senior ministry officials, heads of legal aid bodies and civil society experts from more than 40 Africa, Asia & Pacific countries of the Global South, all came together to find solutions to the most pressing challenges of access to justice in the Global South and carve out actionable outcomes for strengthening legal aid and justice systems.

1. eCourts Mission Mode Project:

The eCourts Mission Mode Project was launched with the objective of improving access to justice using technology. eCourts Phase I was aimed at basic computerization of courts and providing local network connectivity. Phase II of the project started in 2015 with an outlay of Rs.1,670 crore out of which a sum of Rs.1668.43 crore has been released by the Government. Under Phase II, 18,735 District & Subordinate courts have been computerized so far.

As part of WAN project, connectivity to 2977 of 2992 court complexes (99.4% sites) have been provided with 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps bandwidth speed using various technologies like OFC, RF, VSAT etc.

Using National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), developed with elastic search technology, lawyers and litigants can access case status information of 24.47 crore cases and more than 24.13 crore orders/judgments.

Since the Covid lockdown period, more than 2.97 Cr. virtual hearings have been held by the Courts across India including Hon'ble Supreme Court of India, making India a world leader in virtual hearings.

Live Streaming of court proceedings has started in High Courts of Gujarat, Gauhati, Orissa, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Patna, Madhya Pradesh and Constitutional Bench of Hon'ble Supreme Court of India thus allowing interested persons to join the proceedings.

25 virtual courts in 20 States / UTs have been set up to try traffic offences. These courts have heard more than 4.11 crore cases and realized Rs. 478.69 crore in fines. Delhi High Court has started 34 Digital Courts to hear cheque bounce cases under the Section 138 NI Act.

An eFiling system has been rolled out for the electronic filing of legal papers. This allows the lawyers to access and upload documents related to the cases from any location 24X7 which makes coming to the court for filing of papers unnecessary.

e-Filing of cases requires the option for electronic payment of fees which includes court fees, fines and penalties which are directly payable to the Consolidated Fund. A total of 21 High Courts have implemented e-payments in their respective jurisdictions.

To make justice delivery inclusive and to bridge the digital divide, 875 eSewa Kendras have been rolled out for helping the lawyer or litigant who needs any kind of assistance ranging from information to facilitation and eFiling.

Citizen centric services are provided through 7 platforms or service delivery channels for providing real time information on case status, cause lists, judgements etc. to lawyers/litigant. The services are SMS Push and Pull (2,00,000 SMS sent daily), Email (2,50,000 sent daily), multilingual and tactile e-Courts services Portal (35 Lakh hits daily), Judicial Service centers (JSC), Info Kiosks, e-Courts Mobile App for lawyers/litigants (with 2.07 Cr. downloads till 31.10.2023) and Just IS app for judges (19,433 downloads till 30.11.2023).

National Service and tracking of Electronic Processes (NSTEP) has been developed for process serving and issue of summons and is currently functional in 28 States/UTs.

A new 'Judgment & Order Search' portal has been inaugurated for the convenience of its stakeholders in searching judgments easily. It can be reached at https://judgments.ecourts.gov.in.

To bring awareness to the public about justice sector, advertising various schemes of the department and to give status of various fields to the public, 39 Justice Clocks have been installed at 25 High Courts. Virtual Justice Clock is also hosted on the portal.

The e-Committee of the Supreme Court of India has conducted trainings and awareness programmes on the ICT services which have covered 5,35,558 stakeholders.

e-Courts project has bagged various awards including National Award for e-Governance consecutively for the last three years.

As eCourts Phase-II is over, the Cabinet on 13.09.2023 has approved eCourts Phase-III with a budgetary outlay of Rs.7,210 crore. Taking the gains of Phase-I and Phase-II to the next level, the e-Courts Phase-III aims to usher in a regime of maximum ease of justice by moving towards digital, online and paperless courts. The main objective of the Phase-III is to create a unified technology platform for the judiciary, which will provide a seamless and paperless interface between the courts, the litigants and other stakeholders. The proposed timeframe for the eCourts Project Phase-III is four years starting from 2023 onwards. The project will help provide a smoother user experience by building a "smart" ecosystem. Registries will have less data entry and minimal file scrutiny facilitating better decision-making and policy planning. The eCourts Phase-III will thus prove to be a game changer in ensuring ease of justice by making the Court experience convenient, inexpensive and hassle free to all the citizens of the country.

1. Scheme of Fast Track Special Courts (FTSC):

A Centrally Sponsored Scheme for setting up of Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) including exclusive POCSO (e-POCSO) Courts was started by the Union of India in October, 2019 to provide speedy justice to the victims of rape and POCSO Act through expeditious disposal of related cases. The scheme was initially for one year extended upto March 2023. The Union Cabinet has further extended the Scheme for three more years i.e. from 01.04.2023 to 31.03.2026 at a total outlay of Rs. 1952.23cr. with Rs. 1207.24 cr. as Central Share to be incurred from Nirbhaya Fund. The Department of Justice till 06.12.2023, has released a total of Rs.734.93 cr. (Rs.140 cr. in the FY 2019-20, Rs.160 cr. in the FY 2020-21, Rs.134.56 cr. in the FY 2021-22, Rs.200 cr. in FY 2022-23 cr. and Rs. 100.37 cr. in FY 2023-24) to 29 States/UTs for the operationalization of these FTSCs.

Achievements of the Scheme

• 758 FTSCs with 412 exclusive POCSO Courts have been operationalized in 30 States/UTs which have disposed of more than 2,00,000 cases (up to October, 2023). Puducherry made a special request to be included in the Scheme and has since operationalized one exclusive POCSO Court in May, 2023.
• The FTSCs reflects the national commitment to champion the cause of safety and security of women and girl child.
• The FTSCs are dedicated courts which have helped in fast tracking delivery of justice to the helpless victims of sexual offences; in creating a deterrence framework for sexual offenders, strengthening citizen's faith in the justice system and making way for a safe environment for women and children.

1. National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms:

The National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms was set up in August 2011. National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms focuses on improvement of administration of justice and justice delivery and legal reforms in the entire country and to address the diverse needs of all sections of stakeholders. Its objectives are two-fold:

1. Increasing access by reducing delays and arrears in the system, and
2. Enhancing accountability through structural changes and by setting performance standards and capacities

Initiatives under National Mission

1. Implementation of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary:

One of the major initiatives of the National Mission relates to Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary. CSS for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary aims to increase the availability of suitable number of Court Halls, Residential Accommodations for Judges / Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts all over the country including at District, Sub-District, Taluka, Tehsil and Gram Panchayat and Village levels. This will help in improving the functioning and performance of the Judiciary across the country in reaching out to every citizen.

The Government has approved the continuance of this CSS for a period of 5 years i.e. from 2021-22 to 2025-26 with a financial outlay of Rs.9000 crore (including central share of Rs.5307 crore) and also introduced some new features like provision of Lawyers Halls, toilet complexes and digital computer rooms for the convenience of lawyers & litigants, besides court halls and residential units.

A sum of Rs. 10443.75 crore has been released till 11.12.23 since the inception of the scheme, of which Rs. 6999.44 crore has been released since 2014-15 which is around 67.02% of the total releases under the Scheme. During the current financial year 2023-2024 a sum of Rs. 1051 crore has been allocated of which a sum of Rs. 577 crore has been sanctioned. In the financial year 2022-23, an amount of Rs. 857.20 crore was released to the States/UTs.

As per the information made available by the High Courts, there are 21,507 court halls available, a significant increase as compared to the 15,818 available court halls in 2014. As far as the Residential Units are concerned, 18,882 Residential units are available against the current working strength of 20,017 Judges/Judicial Officers. There were 10,211 Residential Units available in 2014. In addition, 3,109 court halls and 1,807 residential units are currently under construction as per Nyaya Vikas portal.

Launch of Nyaya Vikas 2.0:

• Nyaya Vikas as an online tool for monitoring of construction projects was launched by Hon'ble Minister of Law & Justice on 11th June, 2018. The Nyaya Vikas web portal and mobile app have been upgraded and version 2.0 has been made available for public online from 1st April, 2020 with enhanced capabilities and functionalities, which has been developed based on the feedback from different State Users, with the assistance of NRSC, ISRO. As on 30.11.2023, 6,828 court halls (completed, under construction and proposed), 6,341 residential units (completed, under construction and proposed) are geotagged.

1. Filling up of Vacancies in District and Subordinate Courts

As per the Constitutional framework, the selection and appointment of judges in subordinate courts is the responsibility of the High Courts and State Governments concerned. The Supreme Court, through a judicial order in Malik Mazhar case, has devised a process and time frame to be followed for the filling up of vacancies in subordinate judiciary. Department of Justice has been taking up the matter of filling up of vacant positions in District & Subordinate Courts with the States and High Courts. Department of Justice hosts a MIS web-portal on its website for reporting and monitoring of sanctioned and working strength, and vacancies of Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts on monthly basis. This enables the policy makers to get monthly judicial data. Since April, 2021 portal for reporting of compliance of directions of Malik Mazhar Sultan case is also live on the Department of Justice website.

1. Pendency in Courts

Disposal of cases is within the domain of the judiciary. However, the Union Government is committed to speedy disposal of cases and reduction in pendency of cases to improve access to justice in line with the mandate under Article 39A of the Constitution. The National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms, established by the Union Government, has adopted many strategic initiatives, including improving infrastructure [court halls and residential units] for Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts, leveraging Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for better justice delivery, filling up of vacant positions of Judges in High Courts and Supreme Court, reduction in pendency through follow up by Arrears Committees at District, High Court and Supreme Court level, emphasis on Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) and initiatives to fast track special type of cases. As on 11^th December 2023, there are 79,781cases pending in the Supreme Court. The pendency in respect of High Courts and District & Subordinate Courts, as on 11^th December 2023stands at 61,95,535and 4,43,45,599respectively.

1. Ease of Doing Business

• The Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) index was a ranking system established by the World Bank Group wherein the 'higher rankings' (a lower numerical value) indicated better, usually simpler, regulations for businesses and stronger protections of property rights. Enforcing Contracts was one such indicator, which measured time and cost to resolve a standardized commercial dispute as well as a series of good practices in the judiciary. Department of Justice was the nodal Department for the Enforcing Contract Indicator. In order to create an environment conducive for investment and business, continued efforts have been made by implementing reforms to enable expeditious enforcement of contracts. To improve the Ease of Doing Business, various reforms have been under taken by Department of Justice in coordination with eCommittee of Supreme Court of India and High Courts of Delhi, Bombay, Karnataka and Calcutta.

To handle commercial cases, 46 Dedicated Commercial Courts in Delhi, 6 in Mumbai, 10 in Bengaluru and 4 in Kolkata have been operationalized. Out of the 46 Dedicated Commercial Courts in Delhi, 2 Digital Commercial Courts have been operationalized in Saket District Courtthat are paperless courts with e-filing and virtual hearing facility.

• Other reforms undertaken include special benches at various High Courts to deal with high value commercial disputes above 500 crore, Designated Special Courts for Infrastructure project contracts disputes as per Section 20B of the Specific Relief (Amendment) Act, 2018, implementation of three adjournment rule (vide Colour Banding facility), use of ICT, e-filing, random and automated allocation of cases, use of electronic case management tools by Judges and lawyers, e-summons, etc.

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