National Judicial Data Grid

GS Paper II Indian Polity and Governance

Context: Recently, the Chief Justice of India announced the onboarding of the Supreme Court on the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG).

The NJDG portal is a national repository of data relating to cases instituted, pending and disposed of by the courts across the country.

About National Judicial Data Grid:

It is a database of orders, judgments and case details of District and subordinate Courts and High Courts created as an online platform under the eCourts Project.
Feature: The data is updated in real-time and has granular data up to the Taluka level.
Management: It operates under Phase II of the e-Courts project, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
Development: National Informatics Centre (NIC) in coordination with the Computer Cell, Registry of the Supreme Court.
Current Data Reach:
- National Judicial Data Grid integrates data from over 18,735 computerized courts across India.
- It provides access to case status information for 23.81 crore cases and more than 23.02 crore orders/judgments.

Significance of National Judicial Data Grid:

Pendency Monitoring and Management: NJDG is a monitoring tool to identify, manage, and reduce case pendency by providing real-time data on pending cases at various levels of the judiciary.
Insightful Analysis and Identifying Bottlenecks: Enables identification of specific bottlenecks in judicial processes.
- For instance, it aids in recognizing trends such as an increase in land disputes, prompting policymakers to consider legal strengthening in related areas.
Enhanced Legal Insights through Data Integration:
- 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.