A Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, remarked that the country’s vast size and complexity make it impractical to issue such directives through judicial orders.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court dismissed a petition on Friday (6th Sept) that called for the implementation of virtual hearing or video conferencing facilities in all district courts nationwide.
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A Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, remarked that the country’s vast size and complexity make it impractical to issue such directives through judicial orders.
The Court noted that these concerns are already being addressed through the ongoing e-Courts project.
“Do you know how many district courts there are in the country? … We cannot impose one-size-fits-all solutions. The nation is too large and complex for such directions. These matters are being addressed in phase 3 of the e-courts project, which is part of a larger technological transformation. Judicial directives are not the way forward,”
the Bench stated.
Kishan Chand Jain, the petitioner representing himself, suggested that the implementation of virtual hearings at the district level could be introduced gradually in phases.
However, the Court stood firm, stating that public interest litigation cannot be used to demand solutions for all such issues. It further emphasized the need to trust the High Courts to allocate funds for technical development, as each State faces unique challenges.
“90 to 95 percent of the funds were utilized by the High Courts within the first month. For instance, the Meghalaya High Court struggles with finding vendors, while the Bombay High Court faces entirely different issues. Each situation is distinct. High Courts have strong ICT committees, and we must trust them,”
Chief Justice Chandrachud remarked.
The petition also called for the establishment of evening courts, but CJI Chandrachud pointed out that lawyers would likely resist this, given their already heavy workload.
“You’ve requested evening courts … but the lawyers will object. If we implement this, they would have to argue in evening courts after a full day’s work,” he noted.
The e-Courts project is a National eGovernance initiative aimed at incorporating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into all levels of the judiciary in India to expedite case resolution. It was developed by the e-Committee, which was formed by the Supreme Court under the National Policy and Action Plan for the Implementation of ICT.
The e-Committee is chaired by the Chief Justice of India.
During the recent monsoon session of Parliament, the Union Ministry of Law provided data on the funding allocations for the ongoing project.
The petitioner, however, emphasized that with new criminal laws passed by Parliament requiring the digital recording of evidence, it is crucial to establish virtual hearing facilities at the district level, where 75% of pending cases are criminal.
The counsel referenced the new ‘E-evidence’ provisions under the Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023.
The Court subsequently dismissed the plea, with Advocate Kishan Chand Jain representing the petitioner.
