Virtual Hearings of the Court Proceedings are the Future

Recently in the Rajya Sabha, on being asked a question by the BJP Member of Parliament Dr. Ashok Bajpai, the Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju listed the benefits and facilities provided by the virtual hearings of court proceedings in our country during the COVID-19 pandemic.

His Reply read, “Virtual hearing of the cases by the High Courts and the Supreme Court has helped the litigants including the underprivileged litigants as it helps litigants to appear before the court from any location of their choice thus leading to considerable saving of time and money.
It also helped the entire legal ecosystem including vulnerable litigants to have recourse to the justice delivery system, particularly during the Covid pandemic when the congregational model of court hearing could not be held due to lockdown and social distancing protocols”.

On being asked about the details of the policy and the efforts of the Government, if any, for the continuation of the virtual hearing in the courts as a permanent feature for easy access to justice at the option of a litigant, the reply clarified that the decision to do so would be under the purview of the judiciary.

Concluding Remark:

The reply also shared the data on the number of virtual hearings conducted since the onset of the pandemic. The number of court complexes equipped to conduct virtual hearings, and funds sanctioned in this regard. Also, the Chief Justice of Orissa High Court Dr. Justice S. Muralidhar recently spoke at an event organized by the High Court of Orissa. He said that the virtual courts are the future of the Odisha Judiciary. He further added that after the inauguration of the paperless Court of the Chief Justice (done by Justice Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud), the Judges of the High Court are holding paperless Courts. In this way, he said, the movement for paperless Courts is also growing in Odisha.

Blog By: Shimona Singh Kulhara

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