Question : Audio-Video Recording of Court Proceedings

(a) whether the court proceedings/ judgments are available on the website of respective courts and if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether suggestions have been received from various quarters to introduce audio-video recordings of courts'' proceedings, if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor including the cost likely to be incurred for the purpose along with the steps taken/being taken by the Government in this regard;
(c) whether the Government also proposes to telecast live the court proceedings and if so, the details thereof along with the action taken by the Government thereon; and
(d) the other initiatives undertaken by the Government to digitalise courts'' records and proceedings and impart more transparency to the functioning of the courts?

ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE
(Shri D. V. SadanandaGowda)

(a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.351 FOR 13TH AUGUST, 2015 REGARDING AUDIO-VIDEO RECORDING OF COURT PROCEEDINGS

(a) Status of cases and copies of judgments are available on the websites of the respective District and Subordinate Court Complexes in respect of all courts which have been computerised. This information has also been linked to the national e-Courts portal (http://www.ecourts.gov.in). Currently, litigants can access case status information in respect of over 4.76 crore pending and decided cases and approximately 1 crore orders/ judgments in more than 13,000 district and subordinate courts in the country.

(b) and (c) The Government has been receiving suggestions for the implementation of audio-video recording of court proceedings. The issue has also been discussed in the meetings of Advisory Council of National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms. In the meeting of eCommittee of the Supreme Court of India held on 8th January, 2014, Hon’ble the Chief Justice of India advised deferment of audio-video recording of court proceedings as this would require consultations with Hon’ble Judges of Supreme Court and High Courts.
(d) Availability of case data online imparts transparency to the functioning of courts and facilitates easy access of such data to lawyers and litigants. So far as the digitisation of court records is concerned, Government has accepted the recommendation of the 14th Finance Commission which includes scanning and digitisation of court records of all district and subordinate courts at an approximate cost of Rs.752.50 crore. While recommending this initiative, the 14th Finance Commission has urged State Governments to use the additional fiscal space provided by the Commission in the tax devolution to meet such requirements.