Supreme Court Onboards National Judicial Data Grid, To Give Real-Time Data Of Pendency Of Case: CJI Announces [Read Press Release]

Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud has today announced that the Supreme Court data will be available on National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) portal. The Court has onboarded NJDG and now there will be all three tiers of Indian judiciary on the said portal.

"A small announcement. It is a historic day. It is a unique and informative platform which is developed by the NIC and in house team of Supreme Court. Now at the click of a button you can see real time information on pendency and disposal of cases, year-wise, total pendency of registered and unregistered cases, number of cases decided quorum- wise", the CJI said.

NJDG is recognized as a significant innovation under the ease of doing business initiative of the Government of India. 

"What we are doing for the High Courts and District Courts, should also be done for the Supreme Court", stated the CJI. It may be noted that NJDG for High Courts was launched on July 3, 2020, in the presence of Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Chairperson, e-Committee.

The NJDG portal boasts an interactive interface and an analytics dashboard, ensuring ease of use and data-driven insights. What sets NJDG apart is its commitment to keeping the entire database continually updated, providing real-time access to judicial data for the public. It had also been stated in the Press Release that the NJDG portal has, without a doubt, become a game-changer in the realm of India's judiciary. Its user-friendly design and commitment to data sharing have ushered in a new era of transparency and accountability.

The press release dated September 14, 2023 reads, “The NJDG portal is a national repository of data relating to cases instituted, pending and disposed of by the courts across the length and breadth of the country. Now on a click of a button, one may access case related information, statistics such as institution, pendency and disposal of cases, case-types, year-wise break-up of the Supreme Court of India.”

As per the press release, NJDG has been developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC) in close coordination with the in-house software development team of the Computer Cell, Registry with an interactive interface and analytics dashboard and the entire database shall be periodically updated on the NJDG portal.

“To date the NJDG portal remains unparalleled, and the same is accessible at a click of a button to its citizenry. NJDG is sui generis as it has brought transparency, and accountability within the realm of the Indian judicial system by sharing all relevant data of cases instituted, pending and disposed of”, it further reads.

As per the release, the benefits of NJDG portal are as follows:

(i) increased transparency

(ii) accountability and responsibility

(iii) improved efficiency

(iv) increased coordination

(v) informed decision making

(vi) optimum deployment of resources and manpower

(vii) single source of data

(viii) huge potential for high-quality research work

The NJDG-SCI portal can be accessed through the website of the Supreme Court of India by clicking on the tab button – NJDG. There are three main webpages of the NJDG-SCI portal

- At a glance

- Pending dashboard

- Disposed dashboard

According to the data available on the NJDG, there is a total of 80,344 pending cases in the Supreme Court, out of which only 64,854 are registered cases. The distribution of pending cases by Coram is as follows: 583 cases for the 3-Judge Bench, 288 cases for the 5-Judge Bench, and 21 cases for the 7-Judge Bench. The Chief Justice of India, while presenting this data, also announced plans to establish special 3-Judge Benches to expedite the disposal of cases.

Furthermore, the NJDG portal highlights that out of 20,982 cases that have been disposed of, the breakdown is as follows: 3,538 cases have been allowed, 12,872 cases have been dismissed, 4,563 cases have been disposed of, 2 cases have been granted, Conditional Orders have been passed in 2 cases, and there are 5 other cases.

The NJDG-SCI portal can be accessed through the website of the Supreme Court of India by clicking here.

Recently, the CJI Chandrachud had also announced the launch of a website named 'SuSwagatam' designed to facilitate the online registration of Advocates, visitors, litigants, interns, journalists, and others, enabling them to request an ePass for accessing the premises of the Apex Court.

Click here to read/download the Press Release