Kochi, January 7 (NationPress) - The Kalpetta judicial district located in the Wayanad region of Kerala has achieved a remarkable distinction as the first district in India to establish a fully paperless court system. This development signifies a significant advancement in the nation's efforts toward judicial digitization.

Under this innovative system, every court within the district's judiciary will operate exclusively in a digital format, encompassing all processes from case filings to the issuance of final judgments.

Every phase of the judicial procedure, including pre-trial stages, evidence recording, interlocutory applications, and final rulings, will now be executed electronically.

The system employs Artificial Intelligence tools designed for judicial assistance, which can create structured case summaries from digital records. This aids judges in quickly comprehending the factual and procedural aspects of cases.

Interactive Q&A features enable judicial officers to access case-specific information, while digital annotation tools allow judges to make notes and highlight relevant legal provisions directly on electronic documents.

Introduction of voice-to-text technology ensures precise transcription of witness statements and judicial dictation.

Judicial orders and verdicts are secured through digital signatures, ensuring their legal validity, integrity, and authenticity.

This entire system was developed internally by the Kerala High Court. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant commented that launching this project in Wayanad, an ecologically sensitive area of the Western Ghats, symbolizes a commitment to “green jurisprudence.”

He further stated that this transition would democratize justice access by eliminating reliance on physical records and allowing real-time access to court documents for all involved parties, regardless of their location.

Justice Vikram Nath, chairperson of the Supreme Court E-Committee, described the Kalpetta model as a scalable and replicable structure for district courts throughout India.

Kerala High Court Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar emphasized the advantages of this initiative, such as decreased costs, expedited case processing, and minimized clerical delays for both litigants and lawyers.

Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar remarked that the in-house development of AI tools has mitigated concerns regarding unreliable data, while Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan noted that the transition was achieved through extensive discussions with all stakeholders.

Bar representatives have assured their ongoing support to further expand digitization across the state.