India's open Judicial Data and its Challenges

Abstract

The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court of India has held that access to Justice is a Fundamental Right guaranteed to citizens of India by Article 14 and Article 21 of Constitution. As such access to justice is a fundamental right and it starts with us being curious to know more. The openness of judicial proceedings is a fundamental constitutional and common law principle. It ensures that citizens understand how the judiciary functions. One of the key parts of openness is access to judicial data. Fundamental belief behind the idea of accessing authentic and open judicial data (OJD) is that openness and judicial transparency improves the quality of justice delivery there by maintaining the decorum and stature of Indian legal system. This positively affects people´s daily lives and more prominently the culture of the country. The specific purpose of this study is to highlight India‟s position and challenges along with the philosophy and principles of OJD in India.

Keywords: Open Judicial Data, Judicial Proceedings,India, policy