National Judicial Data Grid

National Judicial Data Grid:

Aimed at promoting transparency and access to information for all stakeholders in the justice delivery system, the NJDG public access page can be visited at the National eCourts portal, ecourts.gov.in'.

1)NJDG is a subset of the eCourts project, a scheme launched in 2007 by the Ministry of Law and Justice.

2)The project aims to integrate technology with the judicial system. However, a recent study by the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) found that eCourts data lacks in several aspects, which may make the recent Supreme Court directions difficult to achieve. 

This is not a new issue, and the Law Commission of India has also faced challenges while depending on judicial data to calculate the caseload across various courts

In particular, the problems in the data arise due to three reasons: Inconsistencies in what is reported, missing data and restricted access.

As an example, the NJDG records only 24 case types. This is the form in which the final data is presented to judges, litigants and researchers. However, district courts often record up to 100 case types. This means that data has to be retrofitted into the 24 types, which leads to inconsistencies

The eCourts project is a step in the right direction. Its unused potential can be unlocked through policy and design interventions that can highlight reforms in the judicial system.

 The errors and lack of standardisation can be reduced by designing interfaces such that most details are automated rather than being typed by individual operators. 

Similarly, a one-size-fits-all solution may not work for all courts. Instead, courts should be given instructions on a common reporting vocabulary and how these connect to the parameters which are to be reported. 

There should be a balance between space for local requirements and comparison across courts. 

This should be supported by bulk and open access to the data, which is regularly audited both by manual auditors as well as automatic processes. 

A functioning data system would allow the Supreme Court to better monitor the pendency and disposal of cases as well as suggest any improvements in the judicial system.