SC’s constitutional bench, eight HCs streaming proceedings live
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Apart from the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court, eight High Courts in the country are carrying out live streaming of court proceedings, allowing media and other interested persons to join them, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday.
The government also told the House that more than six crore cases have been handled by virtual courts and online fines of more than Rs 649.81 crore collected till October 30, 2024, while handling petty matters like traffic challan cases.
Minister of State (independent charge) of the Ministry of Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal said in an answer that, as on date, live streaming of court proceedings is in operation in the High Courts of Gujarat, Gauhati, Orissa, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Patna, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court.
Replying to a question by Vivek K. Tankha of the Congress, the Minister of State said: “The live streaming of court proceedings falls under the administrative jurisdiction of the respective High Courts and the Supreme Court of India. The Supreme Court has circulated the Model Rules for Live Streaming and Recording of Court Proceedings to all the High Courts.”
Replying to a question on whether the government has earmarked specific funds to equip all courts in India to possess the requisite infrastructure for implementing live streaming, Meghwal said, “One of the components of the eCourts Project Phase-III is Courtroom Live Audio-visual Streaming System (CLASS) under which an amount of Rs 112.26 crore has been earmarked.”
Replying to another question by Subhash Barala of the BJP on improvement in the system for Judicial Administration, Meghwal said the 23rd Law Commission of India was constituted on September 2 to suggest measures to ensure speedy clearance of arrears, reduction in costs and delivery of fair justice. The MoS said the law panel would also suggest measures for simplification of processes and court procedures and suggest harmonising rules of various High Courts for the sake of uniformity and ease of understanding and implementation. It would also suggest steps for the simplification of procedures to reduce and eliminate technicalities and devices for delay.
In response to a question on Virtual Courts asked by Aditya Prasad of the BJP, the MoS said virtual courts have been promoted with the aim of eliminating the physical presence of litigants or lawyers in the court and for adjudication of petty cases on a virtual platform. “This concept has evolved in order to efficiently utilise court resources and to provide the litigants with an effective avenue to settle petty disputes while adhering to all the judicial processes,” he said. More than 6 crore cases have been handled by these virtual courts and online penalty of more than Rs. 649.81 crore has been realised till October 30, 2024.
Claiming that the establishment of Virtual Courts is an administrative matter which falls within the purview and domain of the judiciary and respective State Governments, the MoS said as on October 30, 27 Virtual Courts in 21 States / UTs including Delhi (2), Haryana, Chandigarh, Gujarat (2), Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala (2), Maharashtra (2), Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir (2), Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand (2), Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Manipur (2), have been operationalised to handle traffic challan cases.
