<p><strong>Chief Justice of India</strong> <span class="key-term" data-definition="Chief Justice of India — the head of the Indian judiciary and the Supreme Court, responsible for administrative leadership and representing the judiciary (GS2: Polity)">Justice Surya Kant</span> announced that <span class="key-term" data-definition="Paperless judiciary — a court system where all filings, hearings and case tracking are conducted electronically, eliminating physical paperwork (GS2: Polity)">Sikkim</span> has become the nation’s first fully <span class="key-term" data-definition="Paperless judiciary — a court system where all filings, hearings and case tracking are conducted electronically, eliminating physical paperwork (GS2: Polity)">paperless judiciary</span>. The declaration was made at the inauguration of the Conclave on Technology and Judicial Education in Gangtok, with the presence of <strong>Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court</strong>, <span class="key-term" data-definition="Chief Justice of India — the head of the Indian judiciary and the Supreme Court, responsible for administrative leadership and representing the judiciary (GS2: Polity)">Justice A Muhammed Mustaque</span>.</p>
<h3>Key Developments</h3>
<ul>
<li>All court processes in Sikkim – filing, hearings, case tracking – are now electronic, eliminating the need for physical paperwork.</li>
<li>The <span class="key-term" data-definition="e‑Courts project — a Government of India initiative to digitise court processes, enabling online filing, case status tracking and video hearings (GS2: Polity, GS3: Technology)">e‑Courts project</span> and the <span class="key-term" data-definition="National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) — a centralized database that provides real‑time statistics on case pendency, disposal rates and judicial performance across India (GS2: Polity)">National Judicial Data Grid</span> have been leveraged to improve transparency and access.</li>
<li>Judicial academies are urged to redesign curricula to include <span class="key-term" data-definition="Artificial Intelligence (AI) — computer systems that can perform tasks requiring human intelligence, such as data analysis and pattern recognition; its use in courts raises issues of bias and ethics (GS4: Ethics, GS3: Technology)">Artificial Intelligence</span> literacy, algorithmic bias detection, and ethical considerations.</li>
<li>Standardisation of the <span class="key-term" data-definition="National Core Case Information System (NC CIS) — the standardized digital platform used by trial courts for case filing and management (GS2: Polity)">National Core Case Information System</span> across High Courts is called for.</li>
<li>Expansion and capacity‑building of <span class="key-term" data-definition="e‑Seva Kendras — public service centres that provide digital assistance for filing court documents and accessing judicial services, helping bridge the digital divide (GS2: Polity, GS3: Governance)">e‑Seva Kendras</span> to prevent