Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud made a significant announcement on Thursday, revealing that the Supreme Court of India is now seamlessly integrated into the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) platform.
Previously, the apex court operated outside the ambit of NJDG. This innovative platform, a collaborative effort between the National Informatics Centre (NIC) and the Supreme Court’s in-house team, facilitates real-time tracking of case pendency.
CJI Chandrachud described this development as a historic milestone, highlighting its uniqueness and the convenience it offers. He stated, “It is a historic day. It is a unique platform which is developed by the NIC and in-house team of Supreme Court. Now at the click of a button, you can see real-time info on pendency of cases, year wise, total pendency of registered and unregistered cases, number of cases decided coram wise.”
The primary objective of this integration is to enhance transparency and accountability within the judicial system.
CJI Chandrachud shared several key statistics, disclosing that the Supreme Court currently has 80,000 pending cases, with an additional 15,000 cases awaiting registration and not yet classified as pending. He also emphasized that in July, over 5,000 cases were disposed of.
Furthermore, he reiterated his commitment to tackling the backlog of cases, stating, “583 cases are pending before three-judge benches, and I will soon set up those benches to expedite their resolution.”
The Supreme Court of India is now accessible on the National Judicial Data Grid at: https://njdg.ecourts.gov.in/scnjdg/
Additionally, CJI Chandrachud stressed the importance of data accuracy, suggesting a data cleanup process to ensure that physical records align with their digital counterparts.
“We also have to clean up our data so that the physical record matches the digital one. I thought we must match up to the High Courts and district courts, which are already on the platform,” he noted.
A press release outlined three main webpages of the NJDG Supreme Court portal:
At a glance: Providing a snapshot of current year’s pendency of civil and criminal cases, total pendency including registered and unregistered cases, number of cases initiated in the last month, cases disposed of in the last month, and cases instituted in the current year. It also offers coram-wise statistics for pending cases, categorized by three Judges, five Judges, seven Judges, and nine Judges.
Pending dashboard: Offering comprehensive information on pending cases.
Disposed dashboard: Presenting data on cases that have been disposed of.
The initiative to integrate the Supreme Court into the NJDG began in September of the previous year, with the Supreme Court e-Committee endorsing the project. The NIC has worked diligently to bring this endeavor to fruition.
