India has Emerged as a Global Leader in Virtual Hearings. The Ministry of law and justice tweeted that 2,61,338 cases have been heard in Supreme Court, High Courts have heard 75,15,714 cases and district courts have heard 1,47,90,248 since the start of Covid lockdowns, bringing the total to 2.23 crore till 31 July, using video conferencing.
25 high courts have introduced rules regarding video conferencing. Video conferencing equipment is now available in all courts, including Taluk level courts, and funding has been approved to install additional video conferencing equipment in 14,443 courts.
Funds were allocated and video conferencing booths were set up. An additional 1500 video conferencing licenses were purchased. video conferencing facilities have already been activated in court complexes. A total of ₹7.6 crore was released for the procurement of Document Visualizers.
The lack of access to computers, laptops and digital hardware among lawyers in rural areas makes the digital divide a serious problem.
The Attorney General has set up eSewa Kendras in High Courts and District Courts across the country to solve this digital divide issue, giving attorneys easy access to courts and internet facilities.
Earlier, during Monsoon session Satna Member of Parliament Ganesh Singh took the government’s attention to complaints from the public that repeated system crashes and technical errors occurred while logging into the system, affecting the smooth running of the process.
In reply to MP Ganesh Singh’s objection Minister of Justice Kiren Rijiju said that National Informatics Centre has developed video conferencing software that is in the testing phase.
The Electronic Information Technology Department also conducted a native video conferencing software development exercise. Regular coordination meetings will be held with BSNL to resolve connectivity issues.
A portal has also been developed for submitting complaints about connectivity issues so that such complaints can be monitored and resolved quickly.
