Let high courts steer tech reforms in justice system, Pg10

Key Highlights:

• The Madras High Court recently allowed an AI-assisted system in live court proceedings.
• Kerala's 24x7 ON Court, a year-old locally designed solution, has significantly reduced resolution time.
• Over Rs 4,104 crore has been spent on the e-courts mission since 2011 to modernize court administration.
• The article suggests devolving the Rs 1,200 crore e-courts budget to high courts for faster and more efficient justice delivery.

Detailed Insights:

• The current e-courts mission faces challenges due to centralized budget allocation and governance, leading to slow and unpredictable court processes.
• Article 227 of the Constitution grants high courts administrative superintendence over district courts, supporting the idea of devolving flexible resources to respect their autonomy.
• Decentralized allocation of funds enables high courts to prioritize improvements in access to justice based on their specific contexts, capacities, and priorities.
• The central bodies should focus on creating digital public infrastructure standards for technology, data, and privacy, while high courts drive innovation.
• Conditional block grants, outcome-linked disbursements, and competitive grants for innovation are potential mechanisms for devolving funds to high courts.
• A blended model combining conditional block grants and competitive innovation funding could offer local relevance, experiential learning, and national standards.

Key Concepts Involved:

• E-courts mission: A flagship initiative to modernize court administration through digitization.
• Article 227: Constitutional provision granting high courts administrative control over district courts.
• Digital Public Infrastructure: Standardized technology, data, and privacy frameworks for digital services.