CUTTACK: The State's first model virtual courts were inaugurated at Nayagarh and Angul by Supreme Court judge Justice DY Chandrachud via video conferencing on Monday. He also launched an e-custody certificate system for enabling convenient access to the antecedents of prisons and automated e-mail services for faster case information sharing with government officials.
Appreciating the idea behind establishing such courtrooms, Justice Chandrachud remarked that the courts shall not only provide dignity to all those who come in contact with the judicial process but also herald a new symbol in the Indian judiciary. Speaking about the initiative of generating e-custody certificates, he expressed that the system launched by the High Court shall be replicated in other states for its obvious benefits.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Justice S Muralidhar highlighted the importance of virtual court rooms. He explained how multiple courts can make use of virtual courtrooms whenever they feel that a case needs to be heard virtually by scheduling the hearing.
The Chief Justice spoke at length on the technology behind the hybrid mode of functioning of such courtrooms where any combination of physical and virtual presence of parties, advocates and witness shall not hinder the progress of trial.
He shared his vision of having fully equipped state-of-the-art virtual courtrooms in every district of the State to facilitate virtual examination of witnesses working or living in far off places thereby expediting adjudication of cases lingering due to non-examination.
The Chief Justice also acknowledged the remarkable efforts made by Rupashree Choudhury and Bhagyalaxmi Rath, district judges of Nayagarh and Angul respectively in establishing the two virtual courtrooms. Justice Chandrachud complimented both the women district judges and said they are role models for men and women alike across the country.