India's push to make justice faster, cheaper, and less colonial took centre stage in Indore on Saturday, 8 August 2026, as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav joined the country's top judicial and legislative leadership to inaugurate the 'West Zone Regional Conference on Enhancing Access to Justice' — a NALSA-backed gathering that put digital courts and decriminalisation squarely on the national agenda.

Chief Justice, Union Minister, and MP High Court Chief Justice on One Stage

The conference brought together Chief Justice of India Justice Suryakant, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, and Madhya Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Justice Vivek Rusia — a rare convergence of the judiciary's apex, the legislature's law ministry, and the host state's highest court. NALSA, the National Legal Services Authority established under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to deliver free legal aid to marginalised citizens, anchored the event's organisational framework.

Dr. Yadav shared his thoughts at the inauguration, noting the sweeping changes already reshaping India's courtrooms: 'ई-केस फाइलिंग, वर्चुअल सुनवाई, डिजिटल डेटा संग्रह' — e-case filing, virtual hearings, and digital data collection are now live features of the justice system, not aspirations.

Colonial Laws Out, Jan Vishwas Act In

Two legislative shifts dominated the CM's remarks. First, the systematic elimination of colonial-era laws deemed redundant in a modern democratic republic — a process successive governments have pursued but which has accelerated sharply in recent years. Second, the landmark Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, which decriminalised 183 minor offences across 42 central laws, converting what were once criminal violations into civil or compoundable ones.

The practical effect is significant: ordinary citizens who once faced arrest or prosecution for technical, low-stakes infractions — think paperwork lapses or minor regulatory breaches — no longer risk a criminal record. Courts, in turn, shed a portion of their crushing pendency load.

The e-Courts Thread Running Through It All

The digital justice push Dr. Yadav highlighted fits inside a longer national arc. The e-Courts project, running across multiple phases, has progressively wired India's district and high courts with case management software, video-conferencing infrastructure, and online cause-list systems. Virtual hearings — once a pandemic-era emergency measure — have become a permanent fixture, widening access for litigants in remote districts who previously had to travel hundreds of kilometres for a brief court appearance.

The West Zone conference, by design a regional convening, signals that the next frontier is not just policy at the centre but implementation consistency across states — and Madhya Pradesh, as host, is positioning itself at the front of that conversation.

With the Chief Justice of India in the room and a Union Minister at the podium, Indore just became the loudest voice in India's ongoing argument that justice delayed is a system design problem — and design problems have solutions.