The electronic cause list before the Hon’ble Judge synchronizes with the electronic case records available in the Database. The electronic files open on the Monitor and the Hon’ble Judge can access them to make digital noting. The software can also record the dictation of the judgment into the computer which can be subsequently used by the Stenographer for transcription. In a conventional Court scenario, the judicial case records are brought to the court from the different sections of the High Court and the Hon’ble Judge presiding over the Court hears the arguments of the advocates based on the physical records available before the Hon’ble Judge. However, in a marked improvement over the outdated methodology, the concept of Paperless Court emphasizes on the usage of electronic paper in the Court Hall and focuses on minimizing the movement of case records which needlessly consumes time and manpower. The process itself is a precursor to the e-filing process which has been visualized for implementation in near future. Acting Chief Justice, Hon’ble Shri Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale has been instrumental in introducing many facilities which are friendly to the litigants, advocates and all other stakeholders connected to the Judiciary. PROCESS WORK-FLOW The identified case records for the particular court are scanned in advance with proper book markings of the relevant papers. Generally, the process of scanning is outsourced to private vendors for the sake of convenience. Once the scanning and book markings are over, the files are saved in a master file server (DMS). An eCause-list is generated and linked to the case data available in the computer of that particular paperless court. As soon as the case number is clicked it automatically fetches the concerned electronic case record from the computer system and displays the contents on the digital monitor placed on dais before the Hon’ble presiding Judge. The electronic cause list is integrated with the digital display boards placed at various places in the High Court premises and SMS alert messages to the learned advocates as regards the case hearing status in the court halls. The software enables the Hon’ble presiding Judge to select the documents of the concerned file through the aid of book markings and to make notes on the record itself or in a separate document. TRAINING Since the electronic files are in PDF form, necessary training was provided to the Hon’ble Judges in the handling of PDF documents like inserting comments, highlighting the text and other aspects. Training was also imparted on the use of the special monitor placed on the dais. LEGAL SOFTWARE ACCESS Online legal software with Acts and Rules was provided in the Court Hall for use of the Hon’ble Judge presiding over the Court Hall so that case laws and the provisions of various laws can be viewed online without having to refer to physical books. A well coordinated and structured networking system, uninterrupted power supply system and well trained, committed and dedicated staff is provided for the successful implementation of paperless court. TECHNOLOGY STACK • Open source technology using Java 1.7, Struts 1.3 • HTML 5 and CSS 3 with Tomcat 7 web server and Oracle 11g database WAY AHEAD In future, it would be ideal to integrate the paperless courts with digitization of records so that separate scanning process can be avoided. The paperless court will be truly paperless with the digitization of records and e-filing of cases. Touch Screen Monitors shall also be provided in the court hall for use by the learned Advocates for e-arguments. Advocates who want to use their own Laptops and Tablet computers should be provided with the case data well in advance so that they can argue their cases with the PDF case files made available to them. For further information, please contact: B. RAMCHANDER Technical Director & Head, Court Group A-Block, Govt. Offices Complex, Tank Bund Road Hyderabad- 500063, Andhra Pradesh Email: bram@nic.in Phone: 040 23223139