The Virtual Court in India is an innovative and pathbreaking initiative of the e-Committee, Supreme Court of India, in the application of digital technology to provide greater and easier access to court rooms for citizens from anywhere and timely delivery of justice. Remarkable success in phases I and II of the eCourts project has laid the foundation for expanding the scope of virtual courts to realise the optimal benefits of doing away with the requirement of a litigant and lawyer in the courtroom and reducing the pendency of cases. The third phase of the ambitious project holds out promises of creating a robust ecosystem for faster adjudication of litigation on a virtual platform, but overcoming administrative and ecosystem architecture challenges will be crucial for achieving the goals. The number of virtual courts from the current strength of 28 is poised to jump to 1150 in phase III, for which the central government has already allocated Rs. 413 crore for high courts to create the required infrastructure. Currently, the existing virtual courts are handling only traffic and transport challan cases. Till June, the existing 28 virtual courts in 21 states have handled 5.26 crore cases, and in 56 lakh cases, online fines of more than Rs 579 crore have been realised, which is reflective of the incredible speed of case disposal through the use of digital technology. One can also imagine the pendency period and long queues in courts to pay the fines if these many cases were to be disposed of physically, as used to be done prior to the introduction of the E-challan solution through virtual courts. The cases are treated as disposed of on payment of a fine after receiving the electronic summons, while citizens can also contest wrongly issued challans through the virtual court web portal. The pilot project of virtual courts handling traffic cases also helped make citizens familiar with the concept of open, transparent adjudication of cases on an online platform. This has also raised their aspirations for availing of similar, easily accessible, and faster legal services in respect of other cases pending before various courts. The e-Committee of the Supreme Court has outlined a clear goal and vision for phase III and identified various challenges. This phase does not “merely digitise paper-based processes; it transforms processes for a digital environment,” states the vision document. It further explains, “Phase III will enable any litigant or lawyer to file a case from anywhere, at any time, without having to go to multiple windows in the premises of any specific court. It seeks to create a reality in which lawyers and litigants can effectively plead their cases with certainty of hearings, and judges are able to adjudicate fairly through optimal hearings: video or audio, in-person or in writing; synchronous or asynchronous.” Key goals of this phase include, among others, the installation of relevant hardware for reliable connectivity, power supply, seamless exchange of documents by lawyers, clients, judges, court registry, etc. Some of the challenges encountered in the previous two phases were digital divides that posed barriers to accessing e-court systems and services in some areas without internet access. Bridging the digital divide and ensuring robust internet connectivity in every village is crucial to making this phase successful. The e-Committee underlined the importance of designing the digitisation to consider the impact of existing and proposed norms on the most marginalised and vulnerable sections of the population. It also emphasises making virtual court systems accessible online and offline in self-service and assisted modes and having in-built translation tools and frameworks that allow for multi-lingual access to all services. The e-Committee document titled “Digital Court Vision and Roadmap” on Phase II elaborates that e-filings and hearings through videoconferencing, especially if made accessible to use on a smartphone, can make the Supreme Courts more accessible to people from remote corners of the country. People from the Northeast region can directly relate to the problem of pleading their cases before the apex court due to the huge cost involved in travelling to the national capital and meeting other costs of accommodation, paying for the lawyers’ fees, etc., and dropping the idea in most cases, except for those who can fford it. Improving internet access in every nook and cranny of the region will be critical to ensuring that virtual court systems are inclusive and their services are accessible to remote areas of the region where rugged terrain and poor connectivity add to the barriers to accessing judicial systems and services. The states in the region have crucial roles to play to facilitate the smooth rollout of phase III of the e-Courts project. Given the hard realities of the digital divide, building awareness about the virtual court ecosystem and services and how to access them among people who either still do not have internet access or are still not familiar with digital technology use also needs to be prioritized.