CCEA nod to over Rs 441 cr computerisation of courts

New Delhi, Feb 8 (UNI) The government today approved the first phase of computerisation of district and subordinate courts at a cost of Rs 441.80 crore to make the justice delivery system affordable, accessible, transparent and accountable.

The first phase of the three phase project is to be completed within two years, Finance Minister P Chidambaram told reporters after the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs which gave the approval.

The second and third phase of the project is expected to entail an expenditure of Rs 225 crore and Rs 174 crore, respectively.

The National Informatics Center (NIC) will build the infrastructure, including site preparation, hardware and software, impart training to judicial officers and staff, and develop LAN facility and other web-enabled applications.

The computerisation will facilitate judges in their day-to-day functioning, help the litigants to access court orders, judgements and statements of witnesses without going to clerks, cut down process time, cost and pendency of cases, facilitate video conferencing with outstation witnesses, undertrials and prisoners, and ensure transparency in the system, Mr Chidambaram said.

UNI