Thank you, CJI Surya Kantji — Re: Modern Tech in Judiciary.
Here's a Practical E = Courts + Retired Judges Model
==================================
Respected CJI Surya Kantji,
With warm regards and sincere appreciation, thank you for your advocacy on deploying modern technology to make the judiciary more accessible and efficient. Your recent remarks on using technology to strengthen the justice system align perfectly with what I have been urging for years.
I am writing to request that you consider a specific, integrated model I have detailed repeatedly:
E = Courts + Hiring of retired judges (Work-From-Home)
The two-part approach:
- E-Courts / Virtual platforms (24x7 filing, digital hearings, streamlined evidence/document exchange)
- Parallel hiring of retired judges working from home — on a per-case retainer basis with performance incentives tied to disposal time
This addresses the real bottleneck: today, you cannot scale adjudication fast enough even with perfect technology, because there simply aren't enough judges. Retiring judges, paid per case and working from home, fills that gap immediately.
Why this works — and where I've detailed it:
I have outlined this model in detail across several years of blogs and emails to successive Chief Justices. Here are the key posts:
Foundational proposal:
"Justice delayed is Justice Denied"– 12 Sept 2018
First comprehensive articulation of an OnlineJustice.gov.in portal + 10,000 retired judges working from home on per-case retainer basis.
Expanded after Supreme Court backed retired judges:
"Thanks Supreme Court for hearing my PIL"– 26 Mar 2021
When the SC in principle approved using Article 224A to engage retired judges, I urged coupling it with e-Courts.
Combined e-Courts + retired judge model articulated:
"24x7 e-Courts ?"– 14 Apr 2021
Demonstrating how to reduce average case disposal from 6 years to 6 months via combined capacity (retired judges) + technology (e-courts).
Latest distillation (Nov 2023):
"TO DISPOSE OFF 44 MILLION COURT-CASES IN 24 MONTHS ? HERE IS HOW"
– 24 Nov 2023
Email to Judiciary, summarizing JUST (Judgment Using Software Technology) = e-Courts + retired judge WFH retainers.
The scale of the problem — and why it matters now
The backlog stands at approximately 5.6 crore pending cases across all courts. At the current rate of disposal, the National Judicial Data Grid estimates it will take 324+ years to clear. Your advocacy for modern tech is vital — but technology alone (without added judicial capacity) will speed up existing hearings, not solve the shortage of judges to hear them.
What I'm urging
Kindly direct the Ministry of Law and Justice to:
- Pilot virtual courts
- (e-filing 24/7, hybrid/remote hearings, AI-assisted case management) in 2–3 High Courts — with clear KPIs and public dashboards.
- Simultaneously authorize temporary engagement of retired judges
- on a fixed or per-case retainer basis, with performance-linked payments and targets tied to case age/category.
- Publish a joint roadmap
- showing how e-Courts and retired judge capacity will work together, with timelines and measurable disposal targets.
This is not a plea for resources we don't have. India has thousands of competent retired judges willing to serve on flexible terms. We have home broadband, encrypted computing, and the technical capacity to run this portal. What's missing is permission to try it — and leadership to integrate both pieces.
In closing
Your predecessor, Justice Bobde, accepted my suggestions on e-Courts and AI-assisted case management. You are now in a position to go further: combine judicial technology with judicial capacity. The citizens of India — and countless litigants waiting 10, 20, even 50 years for justice — are counting on it.
With deep respect,
Hemen Parekh
Mumbai
No comments:
Post a Comment