KOCHI: V-Consol, the video conferencing solution developed by Techgentsia Software Technologies Private Limited, an IT company based at Infopark, Cherthala, is now being used by the Kerala High Court. The High Court has started virtual hearings using the app from June 14. The app was chosen as the winner in the central government's competition for developing the best video conference solution under the Digital India Initiative.
The High Court has been using the app's Zoom and Google meet for virtual hearings since March 2020 after physical hearings were suspended amidst the COVID pandemic.
In a hearing through the V-Consol app, an advocate has an option to choose the active courts where he can appear for a case. It also provides an option to view court proceedings. Those who registered on the app can watch the court proceedings as a viewer. The audio and video from the specific court is available to the advocate. The page further provides an option to select the proper audio input devices like microphones, audio input devices such as headphones and video input such as cameras. An advocate can enter the meeting page only after selecting the input/output devices properly.
Welcoming the introduction of the indigenous app, Sruthy N Bhat, lawyer of the Kerala High Court, said, "From what I have learnt, I feel it does solve a lot of the problems that lawyers face while using a normal interface. There have been several instances wherein the judge himself couldn't enter as the meeting already had reached its maximum limit. Often, controlling the entrants seems to be a real problem. There were no criteria to allow the participants into the meeting which has created problems during the course of the court proceeding. That issue I believe is what exactly the new app is trying to solve because now those who entering the meeting have to provide details. So there is accountability." She added that there should be proper awareness before introducing the new app for virtual hearings.
More options in this meeting room
*Raise hand button: It helps to notify the court master to make the advocate an active participant. Once the Court master accepts the request the advocate will get an option to say something in that court.
*Exit Court button: It will help to exit from all the courts
*Menu button: It helps the advocate to see all the courts active at present. An advocate can switch to other courts easily and view the proceedings happening in each court.
Steps to appear for a case in a court
* Login as an Advocate
* Select the court name from the active court lists and confirm the selected court is correct by clicking the checkbox. The next button got active and click on it to continue to the next page
*Select the “Appear in a case” button
*For any submissions, click the checkbox, select the time for the submission and click the NEXT button.