In a first, virtual court goes paperless in SC

In a first, virtual court goes paperless in SC

All 3 Judges Use Laptops To Read Files & Make Notes

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:02.06.2020

In a pioneering development for a judiciary consuming a staggering 10 billion sheets of paper annually, a virtual court of the Supreme Court went paperless on Monday and judges heard cases without having a single paperbook case file on their table.

It was an unusual sight in virtual court number three. Missing were the usually stacked case files besides the three chairs on the dais prior to assembling of the judges. Even more unusual was the three judges — Justices D Y Chandrachud, Hemant Gupta and Ajay Rastogi — walking in with their laptops. They opened their laptops and started hearing cases even as most lawyers connected through video links were seen using paper case files.

During the arguments, the judges were seen making notes on the laptop as the hearings continued without any glitch. If all judges in the SC, high courts and trial courts follow suit, then the judiciary will save 10 billion sheets of paper and thousands of trees from being felled for the purpose every year.

The first move to make SC proceedings paperless was initiated by then CJI J S Khehar, who in 2017 brought in largescreen computers which were placed before the judges in the first five courts. But the judges, who had worked with case files and physically turned pages to go through petitions, were uncomfortable with the sudden decision to go paperless. “I will rather read the files physically than go through it on a computer. It just does not feel that one has read a file when reading on a computer screen,” a judge had said three years ago.

Most judges shared the view. Soon, the huge computers were folded and used as table tops. Later, these were removed to the storeroom. “Software for court-work at that time was not advanced and had several shortcomings. Present software is much more advanced. It allows the judges to make notes with special pens on the computer screen itself about a case and these notes can be preserved confidentially. The law clerks’ notes, as well as the judge’s own notings, can be stored separately and can be seen by the judge during the hearing along with the case file,” a source said.

To streamline filing of cases and their categorisation for grouping, the SC’s E-Committee, headed by Justice Chandrachud, has constituted a committee to prepare standard operating procedures for digitisation and e-filing of cases in all HCs and district courts. “The e-filing module is ready for HCs and district courts,” the source said.

Judges in different HCs told TOI that the technology for virtual hearing did not support simultaneous functioning of more than three virtual courts, impeding the HC from listing a large number of cases daily.

NEW NORMAL: Chief Justice of India S A Bobde and Justice D Y Chandrachud (right) attended the online event as Supreme Court on Monday streamed a live demo on e-filing of cases for advocates