The Hindu Business Line : Govt to computerise all courts over next 4 years

DELIVERANCE of justice may get expedited in the coming days, with the Government looking to fully computerise every court in the country over the next four years.

"The Law Ministry is looking to spend Rs 300 crore to Rs 400 crore every year for this purpose," the Union Law and Justice Minister, Mr H.R. Bhardwaj, told Business Line on the sidelines of a function organised to inaugurate the orientation and training programme for newly appointed members of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT).

The Tribunal has 22 new members. While 16 are Accountant Members, 6 had been appointed as Judicial Members. The ITAT has in all 63 Benches, with each Bench comprising one Judicial Member and one Accountant Member.

The ITAT, which was established in 1941, disposes appeals relating to direct taxes at the second-appellate stage. Its orders are final so far as facts are concerned. An appeal is provided against its orders to the High Court only on substantial question of law and thereafter to the Supreme Court.

Earlier, in his inaugural address, Mr Bhardwaj said that every court and Tribunal including those at the taluk level would get fully computerised in the coming days. He said that a large amount has recently been sanctioned for this purpose.

The Law Minister advised the new members that there was no substitute for hard work and that they would also have to enrich their knowledge every day. Mr Bhardwaj also expressed hope that the National Tax Tribunal would get commissioned in the current year.

The Law Secretary, Mr R.L. Meena, said that there had been some reduction in the scale of pendency of cases before the ITAT. "But, we must aim for a system that would enable disposal of appeals within six months of the filing of appeals", Mr Meena said. As on March 1, about 1,38,739 cases were pending before the Tribunal.

The ITAT President, Mr Vimal Gandhi, said that the emphasis of the orientation programme would be to make the new members aware of "long cherished traditions, and values of this institution, which is more than six decades old and has stood the test of time till today".

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