10 June 2021: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

E. Editorials

Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. The promise and perils of digital justice delivery

Context:

• The e-Committee of the Supreme Court of India recently released its draft vision document for Phase III of the e-Courts project.

Background:

The e-Courts project:

• The e-Courts Project was conceptualized on the basis of the “National Policy and Action Plan for Implementation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the Indian Judiciary – 2005” submitted by e-Committee, Supreme Court of India with a vision to transform the Indian Judiciary by ICT enablement of Courts.
  • E-committee is a body constituted by the Government of India in pursuance of a proposal received from the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India to constitute an e-Committee to assist him in formulating a national policy on computerization of Indian Judiciary and advise on technological communication and management related changes.
• The e-Courts Mission Mode Project, is a pan-India project, monitored and funded by the Department of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India for the District Courts across the country.
• The e-Courts project envisages:
  • To develop, install & implement decision support systems in courts.
  • To automate the judicial processes to the extent possible.
• Phases I and II of the e-Courts project had dealt with the digitisation of the judiciary, i.e., e-filing, tracking cases online, uploading judgments online, etc.

Potential benefits of digital justice delivery:

Increased transparency:

• Automation of judicial processes can help increase the transparency of the process by increasing the accessibility of information to its stakeholders.

Enhance judicial productivity:

• It will help enhance judicial productivity, both qualitatively & quantitatively by streamlining judicial processes.
  • Phase II of the e-Courts project saw the development of the National Service and Tracking of Electronic Processes, a software that enabled e-service of summons.

Efficient and time-bound delivery of justice:

• By enabling efficient & time-bound citizen-centric services delivery it can help rectify the long delays and difficulties for ordinary litigants and hence help ensure delivery of justice. It will help make the justice delivery system affordable, accessible, cost-effective, predictable and reliable.
  • Around 3.27 crore cases are pending before Indian courts, of which 85,000 have been pending for over 30 years.

Continued access to the judiciary:

• The digital justice delivery has helped ensure judicial accessibility despite the lockdowns induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Notwithstanding some hiccups, the Supreme Court and High Courts have been able to function online despite physical courts being forced to shut down.
• The digital functioning of the courts enabled access to lawyers and litigants despite the lockdowns in place.

For more related information on this topic refer to:

UPSC Comprehensive News Analysis of 14th Apr 2020

Details:

• Phase III of the e-Courts project continues with its commitment to the digitization of court processes, and plans to upgrade the electronic infrastructure of the judiciary.
• The vision document also envisages large-scale data collection exercise which could be used for future policymaking and help to make suitable interventions to address existing challenges in the system.
• The draft document proposes a 360-degree approach to data collection, wherein a 360-degree profile of each person would be created by integrating all of their interactions with government agencies into a unified database.
• The draft vision document for Phase III proposes an “ecosystem approach” to justice delivery, under which it suggests a “seamless exchange of information” between various branches of the State, such as between the judiciary, the police and the prison systems through the Interoperable Criminal Justice System (ICJS).

Concerns:

• While the objective of digitization of the judiciary is a welcome move, certain recommendations in the draft vision document for Phase III are a point of concern.

Will further exclusion and inequity:

• Given the fact that the first layer of data creation happens at local police stations, which have historically contributed to the criminalization of entire communities by labelling such communities as “habitual offenders”, the proposed Interoperable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) will likely exacerbate existing class and caste inequalities that characterise the police and prison system.

Threat of profiling and surveillance:

• Given that the data collected, shared and collated through the e-Courts project will be housed within the Home Ministry under the ICJS, henceforth localised data will become more centralized. This increases the threat of profiling and surveillance.
• The 360-degree approach envisaged in the draft document poses the threat of targeted surveillance.

Privacy concerns:

• The data collection combined with extensive data sharing and data storage is a cause for concern given its possible implications on the Right to Privacy of the citizens.
• The integration of data allows the creation of an integrated database on a person with a variety of information relating to that individual, some of which may be purely civil, commercial or personal in nature.
• The lack of a data protection regime law in India further raises concerns over possible infringement on the right to privacy.

Recommendations:

• The article proposes abandoning the ecosystem approach. The e-Committee must prevent the “seamless exchange” of data between the branches of the state that ought to remain separate.
• The article also proposes that the e-Courts must move towards localisation of data, instead of centralization given the potential threat that such centralization poses.
• Given the potential advantage of data in addressing challenges in the judicial system, instead of altogether abandoning data collection, rather there is the need to focus on a system that can provide anonymous, aggregated, and statistical information about issues without identifying the individuals. This could be made possible by encouraging uniformity and standardisation of entry fields.

Conclusion:

• Technology can indeed help revolutionise India’s ailing judicial system, however, it cannot be an end in itself and the use of technology needs to be ensured within the constitutional framework of the fundamental rights of citizens.
• Phase 3 of the e-Courts project must devise ways to harness technology for service delivery without increasing surveillance risks

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q1. With reference to Minimum Support Prices (MSP), which of the following statements is/are 
incorrect?

1. They are announced by the Government of India at the end of the sowing season.
2. MSP is fixed twice a year on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and its recommendation is binding.
3. MSP also covers commercial crops.

Options:

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: a

Explanation:

• The Minimum Support Price (MSP) is the rate at which the government purchases crops from farmers.
• They are announced by the Government of India at the beginning of the sowing season.
• MSP is fixed twice a year on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and its recommendations are not binding and are only advisory in nature.
• MSP also covers commercial crops.
• MSPs cover:
  • Cereals (paddy, wheat, maize, sorghum, pearl millet, barley and ragi)
  • Pulses (gram, tur, moong, urad, lentil)
  • Oilseeds (groundnut, rapeseed-mustard, soyabean, sesamum, sunflower, safflower, nigerseed)
  • Commercial crops (copra, sugarcane, cotton and raw jute).

Q2. Consider the following pairs:

     Name of the Paper/Journal                                  Name of the Founder/Editor

1. Young India                                                                     Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
2. Navjivan                                                                                     Sachindranath Sanyal
3. Jugantar                                                                Barindra Kumar Ghosh and Bhupendranath Dutt

Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?

1. 1 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: c

Explanation:

• Young India was a weekly paper or journal in English published by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
• Navjivan was also published by Mohandas Gandhi.
• Yugantar, the weekly magazine was started by Barindra Kumar Ghosh, Bhupendranath Dutt.

Q3. Which of the following National Parks are in the state of Assam?

1. Kaziranga National Park
2. Dibru Saikhowa National Park
3. Nameri National Park
4. Orang National Park
5. Dihing Patkai National Park
6. Raimona National Park

Options:

1. 1, 2, 3 and 6 only
2. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 only
3. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 only
4. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: d

Explanation:

• There are 7 national parks in the state of Assam with Dihing Patkai recently being notified as a National Park.
• National Parks in Assam are: Kaziranga, Manas, Nameri, Orang, Dibru-Saikhowa, Raimona and Dihing Patkai.

Q4. Consider the following statements:

1. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI).
2. RBI has four deputy governors, two are from the outside and two from within the central bank.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both
4. None

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: c

Explanation:

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI).
• AFI is an international policy institute and public policy network that specializes in financial inclusion policy for the unbanked and underbanked population of the world.
• Institutions comprising central banks, financial regulatory institutions, and financial inclusion policymakers from 80 least developed and developing countries are its members.
• AFI is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
• As per the RBI Act, RBI should have four deputy governors – two from within the ranks (in RBI), one commercial banker and another economist to head the monetary policy department.
• Of the four deputy governors, two are from the outside and two from within the central bank.

Q5. Which of the following is/are the principal feature(s) of the Government of India Act, 
1919? (UPSC 2012)

1. Introduction of dyarchy in the executive government of the provinces
2. Introduction of separate communal electorates for Muslims
3. Devolution of legislative authority by the centre to the provinces

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

1. 1 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: c

Explanation:

• The Government of India Act 1919 was an act of the British Parliament that sought to increase the participation of Indians in the administration of their country.
• The act was based on the recommendations of a report by Edwin Montagu, the then Secretary of State for India, and Lord Chelmsford, India’s Viceroy between 1916 and 1921. Hence the constitutional reforms set forth by this act are known as Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms.
• Dyarchy was introduced, i.e., there were two classes of administrators – Executive councillors and ministers.
• The subjects were divided into two lists – reserved and transferred.
• It provided for devolution of legislative authority by the centre to the provinces.
• While the act extended consolidated and communal representation, the introduction of separate communal electorates for Muslims was not provided for in the GOI Act 1919.

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) enablement of the Indian judicial system gives us a rare opportunity to transform the legal system. Comment. Also, highlight some of the challenges with the implementation of the ‘Ecosystem’ Approach. (15 Marks, 250 Words) [GS-2, Governance]
2. The rise of phishing attacks poses a significant threat to individuals, organizations and security apparatus. Discuss. (10 Marks, 150 Words) [GS-3, Security]