Have Requested All CJs To Encourage VC In Courts: Law Minister Arjun Meghwal Responds To MP P. Wilson's Call To Mandate Virtual Courts

Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal recently requested the Chief Justices of all High Courts to encourage the use of video conferencing in court proceedings.

Responding to the issue raised by MP P. Wilson in Rajya Sabha regarding "Mandatory functioning of Virtual courts along with Physical Courts across country", Meghwal said,

“We are in broad agreement with the issue raised by you and it is informed that a letter dated 20.02.2024 has already been addressed by me to the Chief Justices of all High Courts (copy enclosed) requesting them to encourage the usage of Video Conferencing infrastructure established under the eCourts Mission Mode Project.”

Wilson in his Special Mention moved on February 2, highlighted how the advent of COVID had forced courts to conduct proceedings virtually.

He emphasized that virtual courts had enabled participation from remote areas irrespective of geographical or economic constraints, eliminating the need for individuals to bear significant financial burdens in physical court sessions.

“Department of Justice, Ministry of Law & Justice, Government of India in close coordination with Committee of Supreme Court of India is implementing eCourts Mission Mode Project with the aim of universal computerization and ICT(Information and Communication Technology) enablement of all District & Subordinate Courts only and the various Tribunals are not specifically covered under it as these fall under the administrative control of different Ministries/Departments” the response issued by Meghwal read.

Notably, under the Project, since Covid lockdown started, the District & Subordinate courts heard 2,21,05,272 cases while the High Courts heard 83,64,322 cases (totaling 3.04 crore) till 31.01.2024 using video conferencing.

Further, since the beginning of lockdown period, the Supreme Court of India held 6,52,534 hearings from 23.03.2020 to 03.02.2024.

Moreover, Phase III of the Courts Mission Mode Project has been approved by the Union Cabinet with a budgetary allocation of Rs.7210 crore which includes further strengthening of Video Conferencing Infrastructure, for which a budget of Rs.228.48 crore has been allocated, the Notice said.

In the light of above, the response mentioned, “it is now incumbent upon the individual High Courts to take pro-active steps to expand and institutionalize the conduct of Court hearings using VC mode for which the Supreme Court has already issued a Standard SoP.”

“Further, the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India has recently, in its judgment dated 06.10.2023, in the case of Sarvesh Mathur vs The Registrar General, High Court of Punjab & Haryana [WP (Cr.) No. 351 of 2023] has issued directions for increasing the utilization of video conferencing facility,” it added.

In addition, the response pointed out to the Apex Court's judgment dated 03.01.2024, in the case of The State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors. versus Association of Retired Supreme Court and High Court Judges at Allahabad & Ors [Civil Appeal Nos 23-24 of 2024] has endorsed a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) which specifically addressed the appearance of Government Officials before the Courts through VC highlighting therein that, as a first option the Government officials be allowed to appear before the courts through video conferencing, thus saving huge loss of official time spent in appearing in-person by the Government officials.

Click Here To Read the Response