CII calls for overhaul of National Judicial Data Grid

New Delhi: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has called for revamping the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) to enable quicker dispute resolution which will improve India’s contract enforcement capabilities, a parameter that has been a consistent drag on the ease of doing business in the country.The World Bank’s 2020 Doing Business report placed India at 163 out of 190 countries for contract enforcement, while its overall ranking was 63.

The NJDG was launched in 2015 under the e-Courts Mission Mode Project to track, manage and reduce case pendency across India’s judicial system.

India Inc has recommended changes such as categorising disputes with more specificity, classifying disputes comprehensively and ensuring more courts across the country are onboard the grid.

The CII said a more specific categorisation of disputes with details such as statutes or laws under which a case has been registered reflected on the grid can “help in identifying the most as well as least invoked statutes, assess average resolution times of specific categories, pinpoint specific delays and learn from the good practices”.

The industry body pitched for a more uniform framework for data reporting of cases across courts, pointing out discrepancies in the classification of cases by the grid and courts.”For example, the Delhi High Court classifies cases under about 50 distinct categories whereas NJDG reflects a much lesser number of categories. Detailed and standardized reporting structure on NJDG would enhance comparability, improve tracking of pendency trends, and facilitate customized policy interventions,” the CII said.It highlighted that rapid growth and urbanisation had driven up the number of disputes, leading to a piling up of cases before the courts.