E-courts have become India’s largest digital-justice infrastructure. With reference to the e-Courts Project Phase III and the National Judicial Data Grid, evaluate.

Introduction: The e-Courts Mission Mode Project, launched in 2007 under Department of Justice oversight and the Supreme Court e-Committee, gives statutory backbone to Article 39A's equal-justice promise.

Body: Three dimensions evaluate its scale and stress. First, the digital backbone — Case Information System now operates in over 19,000 court complexes, the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) provides a public dashboard, and Phase III, approved 13 September 2023 with Rs 7,210 crore outlay for 2023-27, adds e-Filing 3.0, ICJS integration and virtual hearings standardised by SUVAS translation software. Second, measurable impact — NJDG displays roughly 5.2 crore pending cases (2025) and platforms over 3.34 crore virtual hearings since March 2020. Third, persistent gaps — a digital divide for rural litigants, paper Vakalatnama dependence and last-mile connectivity in subordinate courts undercut equal access.

Conclusion: Mandatory e-Filing, DigiLocker integration and the Online Dispute Resolution framework recommended by the Kovind Committee (NITI Aayog 2021) will operationalise digital justice.