Revisiting E-Courts in India: a bird's eye view from the Australian context

With the advent of globalisation and rapid technological advances, India's response to an electronic court filing system ('e-court') is relatively new. It is only in 2006 that low cost e-filing has been made available to the public by Indian courts. Although this transition facilitates a more sophisticated means of conducting court business and promotes public understanding of judicial proceedings, it has (as elsewhere in the world) caused significant controversy. Some of the controversy surrounds issues about whether the existing infrastructure and socio-economic reality of India can support the move towards electronic courts; whether prevailing laws incorporate an appropriate approach to balance the right to a fair trial and individual privacy concerns; whether e-filing provides desirable aids to reflect judicial credence and public confidence in the administration of justice; and finally, whether e-courts ensure accurate management and reporting of court records. The article aims to explore some of these issues and in doing so, considers Australia's experience with e-courts to see if it may provide any insights into India's contemporary concerns.