Madhya Pradesh High Court Launches Integrated Video Surveillance System (IVSS) &Courtroom Live Audio-Visual Streaming System (CLASS)

Today, (21st December 2023), the ambitious project of High Court of Madhya Pradesh, the MPHC IVSS and CLASS Project, has been inaugurated by Justice Ravi Malimath, Chief Justice, High Court of Madhya Pradesh, in the august presence of Hon'ble Judges of the High Court and Officers of the High Court & District Court, Jabalpur.

For the very first time in India, a High Court is setting up the live streaming of proceedings for all District and Tehsil courts in the state.  

This is a pioneering technological project in the history of Indian judicial system that will make the court premises administered by MPHC safer and transparent. This adoption and integration of new technologies will prepare Madhya Pradesh Judiciary for the digital era.  

In line with the overall objective of moving towards safer court premises, MPHC has initiated the Integrated Video Surveillance System (IVSS) and Courtroom Live Audio Visual Streaming System (CLASS), the project that will enable live streaming of court rooms of 210 court complexes, under the High Court of Madhya Pradesh, Jabalpur, in addition to enhancement of security in the courts.

The IVSS & CLASS implementation comprises:

1. Integrated Video Management System,

2. Courtroom Audio-visual Recording System,

3. Archiving & Live as well as on-demand Streaming Set-up

4. Setting up of Data Center & Command & Control Center at Jabalpur

5. Disaster Recovery set-up at Indore

6. Facility Management Services and Operation & Maintenance of the System for a period of 5 years.

The total cost of the project is Rs. 189.25 crores.

The various highlights of the project are:

• Usage of video surveillance cameras for live streaming of courtroom proceedings

• Video Surveillance System at every court premises and within every courtroom - 24x7 surveillance of gates, courtyard (parking places), building entry points, courtroom entrances, courtrooms, passages & other public assembly points with the use of advanced megapixel IP cameras

• Integration of IVSS, CLASS and the case tracking and management system currently in use at High Court of Madhya Pradesh.

• A state-of-the-art Command & Control Center & Data Centre in Jabalpur for alarm monitoring, on-demand video monitoring & audio-visual recording archival along with Disaster Recovery set-up at Indore

• Local as well as District Level Control Rooms for monitoring local/ remote security cameras

• Biometric (Facial) Access Control for Judges' Chambers & Data Centers

• Use of Door Frame & Hand-held Metal Detectors for visitor screening

The multitudinous benefits of this project are:

• The live streaming of courtroom proceedings will instill complete transparency.

• In the current situation, virtual court rooms are a real requirement, and this project is a step in that direction.

• The live streaming as well as the audio & video recording of cases shall be a potent tool in the education of law and can benefit millions of law students in decades to come – any courtroom can be witnessed live over the internet.

• The audio and video recording shall be tagged to the cases and archived for future reference and learning

• This is also a step towards paperless courts

• The placement of high-resolution cameras will act as deterrence for nefarious activities within the temples of justice and will also serve as an effective tool during post-incident investigations.

Under the pilot phase, a Centralized Command and Control Center (CCC) at Jabalpur and Disaster Recovery site at Indore have been established and Integrated Video Surveillance System (IVSS) has been commissioned at District Court of Jabalpur and Tehsil Courts of Patan & Sihora. Similarly, the Courtroom Live Audio Visual Streaming System (CLASS) implementationhas been completed in one court room of Jabalpur District Court and one court room each of Tehsil Courts of Patan and Sihora. The subsequent phases for state-wide implementation of the project are expected to be completed by December 2024.

With the implementation of the IVSS & CLASS project, the courtrooms in Madhya Pradesh will not only become safer for the participant stakeholders but also create a legacy of transparency & accountability and usher an era of continuous learning that will spread judicial wisdom and enhance legal competencies.