A novel concept of virtual courts has been introduced under the eCourts project to deal with petty traffic offence cases. The concept is aimed at reducing footfalls in the courts by eliminating the physical presence of violator or advocate in the court. Virtual court can be managed by virtual judge whose jurisdiction can be extended to entire state and working hours may be 24X7. Neither litigant need to come to court nor judge will have to physically preside over the court. Thus, precious judicial time and manpower will be saved.
As on 29.02.2024, there are 25 such courts in 20 States / UTs viz. Delhi (2), Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala (2), Maharashtra (2), Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir (2), Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand Odisha, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Chandigarh and Gujarat (2).
Facility is provided for Litigants to file the plaint electronically through e-Filing and pay the Court Fees or Fine online through pay.ecourts.gov.in. Litigant can view the status of the case also online through various channels created for service delivery hence the entire exercise can be done sitting at home. Over 4.59 crore cases have been handled by 25 virtual courts and in more than 50 lakhs cases, online fine of more than Rs. 520.93 crores have been realized till 29.02.2024.
