irtual courts can’t replace open court hearing: SC judge

Virtual courts can’t replace open court hearing: SC judge

‘Technology Will Play A Major Role To Speed Up Justice Delivery’

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:  25.05.2020

Supreme Court judge and e-committee chairman Justice D Y Chandrachud on Sunday said virtual courts could not replace open court hearings as it constituted the spine of the judicial system but emphasised that reliance on technology, brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, would continue to play a major role in speeding up justice dispensation.

In a webinar with students of NALSAR University, Hyderabad, Justice Chandrachud said, “I don't think virtual courts are going to replace open court hearing. I don't think any judge or expert in technology is going to say that. I want to disabuse the minds of people who think that virtual courts are some sort of panacea or formula which is a substitute for open court hearing.”

He said the judiciary had no choice but to resort to virtual courts given the seriousness of the Covid-19 pandemic. “We had to protect lives of lawyers, litigants, all stakeholders, media personnel, students and clerks. So, we were compelled to have video conference hearings,” he added.

“What I perceive for future is a healthy mixture of hearings in open courts and virtual courts. Virtual courts must be encouraged in areas they are suited to. And we must necessarily have open court hearings which really constitute the spine of our system,” he said and gave the example of how virtual courts in Delhi dealing with traffic challans had been a real success story.

He said earlier, 20 judicial officers were engaged to decide traffic challan cases. Virtual courts for traffic challans started in Delhi in July last year with just one judicial officer. This alone had settled 7,32,061 traffic challan cases leading to collection of Rs 89.50 crore as fines for traffic rule violations. He said similar e-courts for traffic challans were started in Faridabad and Pune. “Now, the Madras High Court will shortly open e- courts for traffic challans in Chennai,” he said.

He said though open court system was very important for judiciary, “we must not remain under misconception that we can continue to perform work as we were doing 100 years ago. Whether we like it or not, technology has come into every aspect of our existence... and technology will play a far greater role in easing up the processes involved in the judicial system to make justice delivery much more speedy. That is because technology makes processes transparent, efficient , accountable and intelligible.”

Justice Chandrachud, incidentally, addressed the webinar through Zoom app, one whose security aspects are under the SC’s scanner. The SC on Friday had sought the Centre's response to a PIL filed by Harsh Chugh who expressed apprehension about security of data on the Zoom app.

Virtual courts must be encouraged in areas they are suited to. But we must have open court hearings, which really constitute the spine of our system

JUSTICE D Y CHANDRACHUD

Supreme Court judge