The implementation of e-Courts in Manipur has resulted in the setting up of 14 ICT rooms/ Judicial Service Centres at 12 court complexes, providing a range of services including generation of Cause lists, availability of judgments, viewing of case status, availability of digitally signed copies of orders and judgments through the Internet etc. At present, 31 courts of Manipur have been chosen for setting up of web-based access for e-filing of cases at the Facilitation Counters located in every court complex. Other practical manifestations of the project include commissioning of Video Conferencing facility at Moreh that connects with Shania Jail, Imphal for production of victims and under trial prisoners; and seamless transfer of data across the judicial system through creation of the National Data Grid at url: http ecourts.gov.in/services.

A landmark project called the e-Courts Integrated Mission Mode Project was started throughout the country in the year 2007 with a vision to revolutionize Indian Judiciary through ICT enablement of courts at various levels. The project was started in the year 2008 in Manipur, and extensive discussions were carried out with the Hon’ble Judges of High Court regarding the implementation of the project which includes setting up of monitoring committees at different levels, selection of sites, building infrastructure, preparation of estimates, etc.

ABOUT THE SOFTWARE The need for a user-friendly software for providing transparency of information to the litigants, and assisting the judicial administration in reducing the pendency of cases, had been felt for a long time. This would require acquiring and customizing a compatible software for computerization of all courts of Manipur. Initially, the Case Information System (CIS) software, designed and developed by NIC Delhi was used for computerization of all the courts in Manipur. The software was migrated to a web-based system with software developed by NIC Pune, designed and developed in PHP and MySQL as backend in the Ubuntu-Linux Platform. This application software helps the court staff in online filing of cases, case registration, daily proceedings, generation of statistical reports, creation of judgment, query, etc.

KEY FEATURES OF THE SOFTWARE

  • Master data entry for all entities related to Computerization of e-Court in Manipur.
  • Admin menu for performing administrative task
  • Caveat filing feature for checking any Caveat against Petitioner
  • Civil Case Filing for generating computerized case number for a civil case
  • Criminal Case Filing for generating computerized case number for a criminal case
  • Fees generation including court fees, process fees and search fees
  • Reports generation including filling of reports
  • Registration of a case by selecting a date
  • Case Allocation for different courts
  • Court Proceedings for generation of different types of Orders
  • Litigant Updation for adding additional information with respect to cases
  • Proceedings Report for generating reports edited by Court Master
  • Management Reports for generating management documents
  • Queries for searching any report desired by the litigant
  • Mail for sharing information within CIS users
  • Query Builder for firing simple query demanded by the litigant
  • Backlog Data entry for entering back log cases
  • Plead Guilty Judgment generation and bulk disposal of pleads
  • FIR details for entering First Information Report of a criminal case

ACHIEVEMENTS Out of various measures taken up under this scheme, the following achievements are notable:

  • Upgradation of Gauhati High Court, Imphal Bench: Forty computers, 20 printers and UPSes were delivered for the court officials of the Gauhati High Court, Imphal Bench (now High Court of Manipur) with Internet facility.
  • Providing Laptops and Internet facility to the Judges: Laptops with internet facility were provided to all the judges of courts of Manipur. All judges were imparted training on Ubuntu-Linux Operating System and Internet browsing so that cases from all the courts can be viewed at any given place and at any given time.
  • Infrastructure Set up: 14 Judicial Service Centers were set up in the 12 Court Complexes of Manipur with three different workstations for every court. Computer hardware along with UPSes, printers, scanners, etc. were provided for successful implementation of the project with LAN facility. Generators were provided to the courts having more than one court for every complex.
  • Software: Currently, cause lists, daily orders and judgments are being uploaded on the portal http://ecourts.gov.in/services by using the CIS Pune version of the software.
  • Video Conferencing facility: Video Conference facility was installed at Moreh Court Complex to connect Shajiwa Jail, Imphal. It was inauguarated by the Hon’ble Chief Justice of the High Court of Manipur, Shri Manohar Sapre on September 21, 2013. Live demos of the VC facility was conducted wherein inmates from the Shajiwa Jail, Imphal, interacted with the Chief Justice and other Judges sitting at the Moreh Court which is located at a distance of 110 kms from Imphal.

All court officials are now able to operate computer independently and able to generate cause list and upload the same on the Internet.

  • MOU: As per the guidelines of e-Court, an MOU was signed between Government of India, Government of Manipur and High Court of Manipur regarding recurring expenditures for maintenance of computer hardware, printers, UPSes, VSAT connectivity, LAN items, manpower, DG sets, etc.

For further information: CH SWARNALATA DEVI Principle System Analyst NIC, Manipur State Centre E-Mail: swarna@nic.in