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 31.01.2023, there are 21 such courts in 17 States / UTs viz. Delhi (2), Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala (2), Maharashtra (2), Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir (2), Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tripura and West Bengal.
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 2.53crore cases (2,53,85,112) have been handled by 21 virtual courts and in more than 33 lakhs (33,57,972) cases online fine of more than Rs. 359 (359.43) crore has been realised till 31.01.2023.
