‘SuSwagatam’: SC Introduces Portal for Streamlined Access with E-Passes

The Supreme Court of India has introduced a dedicated online portal, “SuSwagatam,” facilitating electronic passes for access to the court’s premises, for visitors, litigants, and journalists.

Formerly, the process necessitated waiting in queues at the E-Sewa Kendra for paper passes before entry was permitted into the court premises.

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud announced the portal’s launch prior to commencing today’s proceedings in the Article 370 abrogation case.

“One can simply obtain the pass on the evening before. When the individual reaches the security counter, the entire pass details are accessible to the CISF. We have named it SuSwagatam. The portal was piloted from July 25. Over 10,000 e-passes were issued by August 8 during the pilot phase. We also have a video tutorial explaining its usage, and it will soon be available in languages other than English. The E-Seva Kendra will assist in training,” the CJI stated.

Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta expressed his approval of the initiative and remarked, “It was a major concern. The entire nation will be thankful. We used to arrive at 9 AM to secure a pass for entry by 10:30 AM. This was around 12-13 years ago.”

According to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) governing the portal’s use by visitors and litigants, ‘SuSwagatam’ aims to streamline the process of obtaining paperless e-passes for official or case-related visits to the Supreme Court.

“The platform offers advanced features designed to eliminate the cumbersome and tedious processes associated with visit requests. The application is cloud-based software with a user-friendly graphical interface and robust security measures. It effectively manages all pertinent visitor information, automatically storing it in a secure database. The primary objective of this document is to outline the workflow for the Visitor/Litigant role on the SuSwagatam portal and the related processes,” the SOP stated.

Based on the pass category requested, a dedicated dashboard will display the E-Pass details upon successful registration. The E-Pass can remain valid for up to 30 days for counsel, journalists, law clerks, and staff upon application.