Digitalization of Courts in India: A Critical Appraisal

Archana Kumari
Assistant Professor
School of Legal Studies, Mody University, India.
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Vandana Kumari
Amity University, Lucknow, U.P, India..

Volume II – Issue I, 2020

Judiciary in India has a glorified past since a very long time. The judiciary has always preserved the faith of people in itself by delivering landmark judgements as and when required in the public interest. But it is also not a hidden fact that the backlog of cases has grown and ultimately led to the over burdening of the cases pending before the courts. This constant increase in the number of cases has been a cause of concern for the judiciary and therefore, various steps are being taking to cope up with this situation. The outbreak of this pandemic COVID-19 has shaken the world and almost every nation has tried to prevent the spread of this virus by following social distancing. The Indian government, too, has strictly followed the nationwide lockdown and social distancing.  The Indian judiciary also has given priority to maintain social distancing and therefore, it has suggested to work through digital mode. Many cases in India has been heard online amidst this pandemic through video conferencing and e-filling of cases. This transformation of working of courts from physical court rooms to virtual courts has helped in reducing the time and more access to justice easily. The digitization of courts in India is not a new idea, it has been suggested earlier too. But the proper implementation of it was not possible due to lack of knowledge of technology and other facilities. One of the main hurdles among these is that not every person in India are having the internet facilities and knowledge of the technologies.

This paper is an attempt to highlight the meaning and concept of digitalization of courts in India. Further, it will also discuss the benefits and hurdles in the way of making the courts virtual.

 

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