NEW DELHI: With an aim of expediting trials, the Supreme Court has recommended the use of video conferencing to speed up the overstretched court processes.
A bench headed by Justice S A Bobde, which contemplated on the conclusion of criminal trials within 60 days, has sought the assistance of the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the National Informatics Centre (NIC) for using technology to speed up processes.
The court pointed out that there are several witnesses who could be conveniently examined through video-conferencing in different cases, as a substantial amount of time is lost in getting them physically present for examination.
Citing, section 309(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code, which prescribes that every trial must get concluded within 60 days, the bench said, “The section provides a time limit of 60 days within which the trial is supposed to be completed. In this context, we consider it appropriate to explore the possibility of using video-conferencing for the purpose of recording evidence since it is believed that such use will eliminate the time taken for summoning the witnesses to court.”
The court said it has issued notices to the Department of Justice and the Director General of the National Information Centre (NIC) to help the bench in resolving the issues.