Supreme Court Has Onboarded National Judicial Data Grid: Chief Justice Of India

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said Thursday that the Supreme Court has onboarded the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), a repository of data on pendency and disposal of cases right from taluka to the national level.

Hitherto, the portal showed data only up to the high court level.

As the CJI started the day's proceedings, he said data from the top court would be uploaded to the NJDG on a real-time basis.

"A small announcement. It is a historic day. It is a unique and informative platform that was developed by the NIC and the in-house team of the Supreme Court. Now, at the click of a button, you can see real-time information on pendency and disposal of cases, year-wise, total pendency of registered and unregistered cases, and number of cases decided quorum-wise," Chandrachud said.

As per the data uploaded on the NJDG, a total of 80,501 cases, including 62,946 civil and 17,555 criminal matters, are pending in the top court to date.

The CJI said the uploading of data on the NJDG will ensure transparency and accountability in the judicial domain.

Noting that 585 cases are pending for lack of a three-judge bench, Chandrachud said he would soon set up benches to address the backlog of cases.

The NJDG is a database of orders, judgements, and case details from 18,735 district and subordinate courts and high courts created as an online platform under the eCourts Project. The data is updated on a near-real-time basis by the connected district and taluka courts.

It provides data related to judicial proceedings and decisions of all computerised district and subordinate courts in the country. All high courts have also joined the NJDG through web services, providing easy access to the public.

"With the Supreme Court of India onboarding the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) portal, the flagship project of the e-Courts project completes the full circle. Now we have all three tiers of the Indian judiciary on the NJDG portal. NJDG is recognised as a significant innovation under the Ease of Doing Business initiative of the Government of India.

"The NJDG portal is a national repository of data relating to cases instituted, pending, and disposed of by the courts across the length and breadth of the country. With a click of a button, one may access case-related information and statistics such as institution, pendency, and disposal of cases, case types, and a year-wise break-up of the Supreme Court of India," a press release issued by the top court said.

The release said the NJDG portal is accessible to citizens at the click of a button.

"NJDG is sui generis (unique) as it has brought transparency and accountability within the realm of the Indian judicial system by sharing all relevant data of cases instituted, pending, and disposed of," it said.