There are circumstances where the records of police
and judicial authorities may go missing or are destroyed beyond
redemption. In such a case, proceeding with the concerned court case
is next to impossible.
If the records of the proceedings are destroyed due
to natural calamities and their reconstruction is not possible, then
the court has no other option but to acquit the accused.
The traditional record keeping has this serious
drawback that is absent when we adopt information and communication
technology (ICT). For instance, if electronic records are maintained,
the reconstruction of lost or destroyed records is just a click away.
Establishment of e-courts
in India is of prime importance in the present ICT driven
era. However, till the month of March 2013 we are still waiting for
the establishment of first
e-court of India. Digital
preservation in India is also not in good shape.
If a guilty person is acquitted due to inability to
reconstruct the records or an innocent is convicted due to defective
reconstruction of records, this would amount to miscarriage of
justice and violation of right to fair trial. Therefore, proper
reconstruction of records is of utmost importance.
In a latest case in this regard, a Division Bench of
Delhi High Court, comprising of Chief Justice D Murugesan and Justice
VK Jain, has directed a District and Sessions Judge to “reconstruct”
within two weeks the records pertaining to a 20-year-old rape case,
in which judicial and police files went missing. The bench also
directed for appropriate action against the officers responsible for
missing of the files.
The bench further ordered for setting up a committee
to examine the practices and systems prevailing in the matters of
custody and maintenance of court records. At Perry4Law
and Perry4Law’s
Techno Legal Base (PTLB) we welcome this move of the Delhi
High Court as it is progressive in nature and justice oriented.
We also feel that an electronic record is not only
durable but can be easily stored as well. It must be noted that in
majority of cases the witnesses do not come forward to give evidence
and many important pieces of evidences are lost forever. This results
in acquittal of the accused and a miscarriage of justice.
The public confidence in the Criminal Justice System of India is declining and the same has forced the Government of India (GOI) to bring this issue right back to the top of the 
However, if the courts have to keep in step and play their part in restoring public confidence in the legal system then they must find new ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations. Information and Communication technology (ICT) can be a panacea for the dying judicial system of India. We can effectively use ICT for establishment of E-Courts in India so that E-Judiciary in India can be a reality.
However, the task is really difficult to achieve because of 
The fact remains that despite all glamorous conferences and public announcements, we do not have even a single E-Court in India and there is not even a single case that has been filed, contested and finally adjudicated through an E-Court System in India. Where those claimed E-Courts are and what cases they had adjudicated is still a big mystery. 
It seems India is just making press statements years after years and courts after courts about establishment of E-Courts in India without actually establishing and operationalising them. The task of their establishment and operationalising cannot be accomplished till we honestly and dedicatedly try to achieve the same. Till now India is just adopting the half hearted efforts and evasive approach. 
The establishment of E-Courts in India requires certain prerequisites. These are:
In the opinion of 
