User-centric e-filing system for the District Judiciary
Consultation series to modernise civil litigation in India’s District Judiciary
Civil litigation in India is hampered by outdated court practices, unchecked frivolous litigations, and frequent adjournments, making the system unsuited for the 21st Century. The judicial system requires a significant overhaul to modernise and streamline processes. The Civil Rules of Practice (“CRP”) promulgated by each High Court combined with the Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (“CPC”), govern civil litigation practice in district courts of India. While amendments to CPC, a centralised legislation will take considerable time and effort, the state level CRP can and should be modernised on a priority basis. In most states these rules are outdated and obstructive to modern technology integration.
This consultation series therefore aims to modernise civil litigation in India’s District Judiciary through the formulation of a Model Civil Rules of Practice. To achieve this, each paper in the series comprehensively looks into a specific stage in the lifecycle of a civil suit, questions the current processes and reimagines them with technology and simplified legal rules at its core.
Designing a user-centric e-filing system
Filing, including electronic filing (“e-filing”), is the first step in the formal adjudication of a civil dispute. Over the last 5 years, the e-filing application developed by the National Informatics Centre (“NIC”) has evolved and is currently in its 3.0 version. However, adoption on the ground has been low. High Courts and District Courts have faced various challenges in moving away from physical filing of. While reluctance to embrace technology by all stakeholders, especially lawyers and clerks, has definitely impeded adoption, the issue equally lies with the lack of user-centricity in the e-filing modules. This consultation paper takes a deeper look at the reasons behind the present reluctance to e-filing, and offers re-designed processes and solutions to make the next phase of e-filing transformative and foundational for the building of digital courts in India.
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About the Authors
Atishya was a Research Fellow with the JALDI team at Vidhi. She completed her B.A. LL.B (Hons.) from the National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi in 2018 and went on to pursue her LLM in Human Rights Law from the University of Nottingham in 2019, for which she was awarded the Developing Solutions Master Scholarship. Her areas of interest include gender rights, diversity, and inclusion. Her experience includes working with governmental organisations like the National Human Rights Commission and the Department of Justice. Prior to joining Vidhi, Atishya was a Director at IDIA Charitable Trust. In her free time, Atishya can be found baking, reading or binging Netflix.
Deepika Kinhal was a Senior Resident Fellow and team Lead for the JALDI (Justice, Access and Lowering Delays in India) initiative at Vidhi which focuses on judicial reforms. She has authored several data-driven research reports seeking to understand systemic issues that plague India’s justice delivery systems. She is now working towards translating the research findings into tangible solutions through interdisciplinary collaborations. Under the aegis of JALDI Innovation Lab, she is leading her team on projects at the intersection of law and other disciplines such as technology, management and design. Deepika has been a part of expert committees constituted by the eCommittee of the Supreme Court of India and NITI Aayog to design a roadmap to improve justice delivery through technology. She has also lead engagements with multiple High Courts aimed at improving their case and court management systems, and has appeared before Parliamentary Standing Committees on Mediation Bill and Judicial Impact Assessment. Deepika graduated from NLSIU, Bengaluru in 2012. Before joining Vidhi, she practiced as a civil-commercial lawyer in Karnataka with Dua Associates, and as a real-estate and capital markets lawyer at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas. Deepika is trained in Carnatic classical music and has performed for All India Radio and a Kannada movie
Deeksha worked with JALDI team for the Re-imagined Civil Rules of Practice (process re-engineering). She has completed my B.S.L.LLB. from ILS Law College, Pune in 2018 and then went on to work as a litigation associate with Dua Associates in Bangalore. Her dream for the Indian Judiciary is one where every citizen can lead their life with the confidence that should an injustice occur, they can approach the courts with assurance that justice will be delivered promptly, sparing individuals from the burden of prolonged waiting. Outside of work, she enjoys running and being outdoors.