Indian initiative to provide free access to authentic legal information

A need was felt to introduce information technology in the judiciary for providing easy access to court related information. As a first step towards this initiative, in the year 1990, the National Informatics Centre, a wing of the Ministry of Information Technology, Government of India was entrusted with the work of computerisation of applications, orders, judgments, statutes etc. for providing an easy access of information to the litigants and lawyers. The project included the Supreme Court and twenty-four High Courts of India. In the year 2005, a National Policy and Action Plan to implement ICT in courts across India with web-based interlinking was formulated. An E-Committee formed in the Supreme Court is the apex body at the national level for implementing the action plan. This paper will cover the projects undertaken by the courts and the government departments to provide free access to authentic legal information along with the various free legal sources which are available online.