Supreme Court dismisses lawsuit seeking introduction of virtual hearings in district courts

New Delhi, September 6 (IANS): The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking introduction of virtual hearing facilities in district courts for disposal of pending criminal cases worth around Rs 34 crore.

“The issues raised in the petition are political in nature. We cannot come up with one size fits all solutions for the entire country. The country is too complex to issue such directions,” a panel headed by CJI DY Chandrachud said at the outset.

The bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, assured advocate KC Jain, who appeared for the petitioner in person, that the virtual courts project was being worked on under the third phase of the e-Courts Mission, for which the central government has allocated a budget of Rs 7,000 crore.

The request was rejected on the grounds that: “These are critical aspects that will be examined in Phase III. But we cannot give instructions on the legal side. These are ongoing projects to introduce technology into the justice system.”

According to the PIL, for effective implementation of the new criminal laws, it is necessary that virtual hearing facilities be made available in the district courts. It called for proactive initiatives to be taken to address the significant delays in dispensation of justice by the district courts, which otherwise undermine public confidence.

“The hybrid mode of hearings in district courts is urgently needed as it would facilitate participation of the litigants in the proceedings, expedite the proceedings and reduce repeated adjournments,” it said.

In addition, the plea suggested that district courts split pre- and post-lunch sittings within a day to help litigants and lawyers use their time more efficiently. “This approach will enable better time management, improved case processing and more efficient use of court resources. It will also reduce stress and travel difficulties for litigants and reduce the backlog of cases,” it added.