Over the last two decades, under the e-Courts Mission Mode Project, the judiciary has taken several steps to integrate technology into judicial processes. These initial and prompt efforts have equipped the judiciary to provide access to justice to litigants during the COVID-19 pandemic. The early success has made it amply clear that the future of the judiciary rests on the immense potential that technology holds in simplifying and re-engineering complex judicial processes.
The service of summons is one such judicial process that can benefit through technology integration. As per a study conducted by Vidhi on Bangalore Rural Courts, the notice/summons stage accounts for 1/4th of the life cycle of a civil suit. On an average, 273 days are spent by the court in the process of serving summons, thereby making summons a major cause of delay across courts.
Vidhi’s new report by JALDI (Justice, Access and Lowering Delays in India) initiative, studies the roadblocks in the process of serving summons and the initiatives taken so far to address delays at this early stage.
The report recommends process reengineering and integration of technology to eliminate existing bottlenecks and improve efficiency. To provide a comprehensive framework, a set of Model Service of Summons Rules is provided as an addendum to the report.
Read the full article here.
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