Budget 2026: E-Courts Phase III gets ₹1,200 crore; law outlay ₹4,509 crore

Budget 2026-27 keeps allocation for e-Courts Phase III unchanged at ₹1,200 crore, underscoring continued emphasis on judicial digitisation

What does Budget 2026–27 signal for e-Courts Phase III?

 

The Union government has maintained the allocation for e-Courts at ₹1,200 crore in the Budget for 2026–27, signalling its intention to sustain investments in judicial digitisation, even as overall spending under the Ministry of Law and Justice contracted to ₹4,509 crore. Last year, the government had allocated ₹1,500 crore, while the revised estimates of expenditure on Phase III of the e-Courts programme stood at ₹1,200 crore.

 

The e-Courts Phase III programme forms part of the National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms and is aimed at creating a paperless, digitally enabled judiciary, with a focus on end-to-end digitisation of court processes, improved case management systems, and technology-led access to justice.

 

 

How has the law ministry’s overall allocation changed?

 

Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Law and Justice has been allocated a net outlay of ₹4,509 crore for 2026–27, lower than the ₹4,998 crore provided in the 2025–26 Budget. This reflects reduced allocations under select heads, even as funding for core reform initiatives has been maintained.

 

What is the funding mix for justice delivery and court infrastructure?

 

Within central sector schemes, the National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms has been allotted ₹1,240 crore for 2026–27, down from ₹1,548 crore in the previous year, with e-Courts Phase III accounting for the bulk of the expenditure. The Budget has also earmarked ₹812 crore, compared with ₹1,000 crore last year, for Infrastructure Facilities for the Judiciary, a centrally sponsored scheme that supports the creation and augmentation of subordinate court infrastructure across states and Union Territories, including Gram Nyayalayas.

 

How is spending on legal aid and capital works shaping up?

 

Spending on legal aid continues to be prioritised, with the Legal Aid Defence Counsel System (LADCS) receiving ₹100 crore more than last year, aimed at strengthening the delivery of free and quality legal services at the district level.

 

Though the capital outlay for the ministry has been pegged at ₹249 crore in 2026–27, higher than the ₹191 crore allocated last year, it is much lower than the revised estimate of ₹818 crore in the previous year. This indicates a tapering of expenditure on large infrastructure projects, including court buildings.