The article is written by Akarsh Tripathi, Symbiosis Law School Noida. In this article, he discusses the future of virtual courts in India and what all has been achieved in this aspect.

Introduction

“When written in Chinese the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two components. One represents danger, and the other represents ‘opportunity’ “ 

– John F. Kennedy 

The COVID-19 pandemic has surely caused an economic depression and various other catastrophes (like that to the health sector and industrial sector). A Similar impact has been made to the legal sector of the country. Due to the nation-wide lockdown, The Supreme Court of India, almost every High Court has been temporarily closed.  

But can this crisis be used as an opportunity? If yes, then how? 

This lockdown period can be used by the Judiciary of India as an opportunity to have a more developed court system and upgrade the use of technology in the judicial system. One of the ways for releasing some burden off the courts is setting up virtual courts. Now, the question that comes in mind is “what is a ‘virtual court’? “Is it different from e-courts?” 

What are Virtual Courts?

As the name suggests Virtual courts are courts that use a remote working system with the help of various software and tools. The aim is to eliminate the requirement of human presence in the court so that the adjudication of cases doesn’t get delayed due to the unavailability of the litigant or the client or the court staff. 

E-courts are kind of a subset to virtual courts, as they refer to the websites, and components used in order to assist the functioning of virtual courts. The websites, mobile applications and various other software used for the computerization of the legal system can be said to be a part of e-courts. 

Milestones Achieved

India is moving towards the attainment of a system, where there would be no requirement to visit a court in-person. Well, it’s not wrong to say that we might not have these courts after all. “Virtual Courts” if implemented properly will provide time-bound and effective delivery of justice to the citizens of the country. Let’s see what all has been achieved until now in the judicial system of our country.

E-courts Project 

The project was launched on the basis of the “National Policy and Action Plan for Implementation of Information and Communication Technology(ICT) in the Indian Judiciary-2005” which was submitted by the e-committee of SC of India. The vision behind this plan is to bring technological advancements in the working of Courts.  The proposed activities of this project were divided into 2 phases:

• Phase-1 of this project, (which started in 2007) the main aim was to initiate the implementation of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) in the judicial system. This was done by providing courts with facilities like computers, working internet connection via LAN (Local Area Network) and required software and hardware (like printers, scanner, etc).

Apart from this, the judges were given laptops with the internet, digital signatures were introduced and district court websites were made functional. Through these websites, citizens could check the status of their case, daily order sheets and final orders too. 

• Phase-2 was enacted with the help and cooperation of the e-Committee, NIC, the DoJ (Department of Justice), DietY and the Ministry of Finance. The infrastructural model was changed and computerization was done in the offices of DLSA (Delhi Legal Services Authority), NJA (National Judicial Academy), SJA (State Judicial Academy) and Taluka Legal Service Committee. 

A common software platform known as CIS (Case Information Software)  has also been created, with which all the court data will be uploaded including the past cases. Video conferencing facilities in courts and jails are in their final stages.

Mobile applications like eCourt services for District and Taluka courts, JustIS Mobile App for judicial officers have also been made. Phase 2 accomplishments also include websites like e-Filing through which citizens can file their case from home, check real-time case status, make court fee payments via ePay facility. 

By the end of Phase 2, there will be discontinuation of manual registers, the introduction of a cloud-based system for all court-related work and digitalization of all cases, whether pending or decided. 

Virtual Courts

On 26th July 2019, Delhi’s first virtual court was launched at the Tis Hazari Court. After that, On 17th August 2019, the Punjab and Haryana High Court introduced the virtual court at Faridabad and the court deals in traffic challan cases of Haryana. This project was launched by the guidance of the e-committee of the Supreme Court of India. 

The procedure followed here is simple and convenient. The case comes directly to the Virtual Court which is presided by a Metropolitan Magistrate. Then, a summon is generated and the same is notified to the accused via email or SMS. Then the accused can go to the website and if he pleads guilty, then the fine amount will be displayed. Once the payment of the fine is made, the case will automatically be disposed of. In case the accused wants to contest the traffic challan, then the case will be dealt with by the Regular court, as per the territorial jurisdiction.

The procedure aids to expedite the disposal of cases, especially in cases where the accused earlier had to visit the court even for pleading guilty. This process also helps in reducing the footfall of the court. 

Recent Developments

Current CJI SA Bobde held a meeting on 15th March 2020, where he discussed the implementation of Video conferencing in Courts, to avoid any type of gathering in Court. This step was aimed to combat the COVID-19 outbreak, and minimize its impact on the functioning of the judiciary in our country. 

In an effort to promote social distancing, and eliminate the requirement of counsels to be present in court, Justice DY Chandrachud who is the chairman of the E-committee of SC announced that e-filing has been made available 24/7, and court proceedings shall take place via video conferencing. 

Earlier a complete shutdown of the top courts was considered to be impossible, but the courts have successfully been able to shut down completely for the next few weeks, in order to contain the spread of novel coronavirus.

It is not a fallacious statement if we say that this development and technological up-gradation had not been possible without the upcoming of this crisis. Well, there is a high possibility that the work was under development and in the pipeline, but the adoption of this system of ‘virtual court’ has received a thrust due to the spread of this monstrous virus. Also, there seems no reasonable explanation to roll back the setting up of online courts, even when the pandemic ends.

Possibility of Virtual Courts in the Near Future

Before we talk about the possibility of virtual courts in India, it’s better to have an idea about what all can be achieved by the establishment and proper functioning of these virtual courts.

Setting up of virtual courts will result in complete computerization of the court system, and the citizens can take the benefits of facilities like video conferencing, e-filing, etc. A virtual court will enable the usage of e-signatures or digital signatures, and a more litigant-friendly user interface can be established in the judicial system of our country by having a proper database of pending cases, orders, etc.

Now, to achieve all this, it is reasonable to analyze the possibility of such virtual courts in the near future and to predict how ‘near’ is this near future that we are talking about. All this can be done after we read about the pros and cons of virtual courts. 

Advantages 

A full-fledged system of online courts with proper implementation will help in eliminating the court expenses such as on infrastructure, staff, security, etc. Parties involved in the cases won’t be required to come to court in-person, which reduces the travel time and makes the procedure cost-efficient. 

Digitization and Computerization of the institutions would also bring accountability and better administration in the working of the judicial system. As we can clearly see that the video conferencing facility introduced to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in courts, has helped in diverting the courthouse traffic and has moved to footfall to the virtual courts with the help of remote video technology. 

One of the biggest advantages which we will have is the flexibility of the court to work 24/7. There is a huge backlog of cases in court, and the delay in justice leads to a lack of faith by the citizens on the judiciary. With this, the procedure will be given a thrust, and adjudication of cases can be done in a  time-bound manner.

Disadvantages

Everything has its pros and cons. So is the case with ‘virtual courts’ in India. It might seem like the best and the possible way to develop and upgrade the legal community of India, and that it has no disadvantages involved. However, that is not the case. 

There will be various legal problems related to the applicability and authenticity of the identity of witnesses, evidence produced before the court, etc. Even the confidentiality of court proceedings shall be at risk because, in the end, the whole setup involves the use of technology and various other software and tools that might possess some threats related to security and privacy of data. 

Also, another practical problem which is India-specific is that in India, there are 24 High Courts, more than 600 District courts and other subordinate judicial institutions. The cost of setting up and installation of essential features would require a huge amount of investment. To convert the judicial system into a remote-working successful ‘virtual’ world, technological up-gradation and investment in court are quintessential.

Apart from this, one important aspect which gets unnoticed is that, will speedier justice result in deterioration of the quality of justice? We need to make sure that the speedy delivery of justice doesn’t cost us the efficiency and effectiveness of justice. Because to have a more effective justice system, the technology must be accessible to everyone. 

Setup of Virtual Courts among Different Countries

Courts all over the world are switching towards virtual courts with the help of various technological developments being made. Courts in Texas have also started to hear criminal cases and continue with the judicial proceedings via video conferencing so that the inmates don’t have to travel from jail to court.

To analyze and predict the scope of virtual courts in India, we should also observe the development and status of these courts in other countries. This will help us to know what will be the issues brought up by the implementation of internet courts in India, and how can such problems be resolved. 

Virtual Courts in the UK

Online Courts have been in existence and under development in the UK since 2009. Increased use of virtual courts has led to a swifter justice system in the UK and has considerably improved the quality of services and accountability of the judicial system. 

Another benefit which was highlighted by the UK’s judicial officers was that the movement of prisoners, the cost and efforts involved in such movements from prison to the courtroom has been minimized, proving that the idea of ‘virtual justice’ is cost-effective. A ‘live link’ is also used for police officers to appear before the court to give the evidence, This helps them to cut down their travel time for police stations to courts and then return to their other duties. 

Virtual Courts have been set up in the UK amid the novel COVID-19 outbreak. The health secretary had announced that these courts will hear both criminal and civil cases. The proceedings will take place via video conferencing to ensure that justice is delivered to the citizens of the country regardless of the global pandemic and courts are able to continue operating even during this period of uncertainty.

Virtual Courts in China

China’s top court, known as the SPC (Supreme People’s Court) had proposed the idea of ‘Smart Court’ in the year 2015. The pioneering work of the internet courts started in 2017 in the city of Hangzhou which eliminated the requirement of citizens to appear in Court. 

‘Robot Justice’ is the term used widely across the country when they talk about such courts. This is because of the fact that these courts have Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered non-human judges who virtually communicate to the parties involved in the case. Officials say that these internet courts work 24/7 and have proved to be a boon for the working of the judicial system of the country.

Although, the kind of cases that were dealt by these internet courts were limited to only matters related to civil disputes for cases involving trade issues, copyright cases, etc.  Now, these courts are planning to expand their applicability to other areas of law. Also, in 2018, the technology has been brought to Beijing and Guangzhou, and the role of “AI Judge” has helped in reducing the repetitive judicial tasks which were there in the litigation procedures.

As mentioned by Meng Yu, the co-founder of China Justice Observer, “it’s just a matter of time to get this technology nationwide”. 

Conclusion

After analyzing everything in a comprehensive manner, we can be assured of the fact that Yes, Every crisis does bring a new opportunity. An opportunity to develop and upgrade ourselves, an opportunity to make ourselves immune to the problems and hindrances which might come in our way in the future. Similar was the case of the future of ‘virtual courts’ in India. We earlier raised a question, that how ‘near’ is this future. Well, we found the answer. It’s okay to say that the ballpark figure would be 1-2 more years, and we can see a well-established working system of ‘virtual courts’ in our country. 

However, this can be achieved only if we don’t forget the hindrances which are in our way and how we can remove them. The reason why India is still not having a full-fledged system of virtual courts is because of various loopholes that exist in the implementation procedure. It was found that various district and subordinate courts were not updating the National Judicial Data Grid(NJDG) which defeats the purpose of having accountability in the working of the judicial system of the country. 

Also, at times we separate the court system from our legal community. The legal society of our country includes litigants, law firms, judicial officers, and every staff working in this arena. And for the development and advancement of one institution, it’s important for the others also to upgrade themselves. Even law firms need to adapt the technology and more towards setting up for what we call “virtual law firms”.

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