The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice recommended the continuation of virtual court proceedings even after the Coronavirus pandemic is over in its report submitted on Friday. The panel chaired by senior BJP leader Bhupender Yadav submitted its report to Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu.
The report said that the court is more of a service than a place and it should welcome the latest technology for its functioning. Virtual court proceedings would happen for select categories of cases. ‘Digital justice’ was found to be cheaper, citizen-friendly, accessible and addressing the issue of locational handicap. It has also suggested that virtual proceedings can be extended permanently to various Appellate Tribunals like TDSAT, IPAB, NCLAT etc located across the country which do not require personal appearances of the parties/advocates. Even though virtual courts may have some shortcomings it is a step forward than the antiquated traditional court proceedings, the report said.
The Committee held a series of meetings with Secretaries of Department of Justice and Legal Affairs, Secretary-General of the Supreme Court and representatives of Bar Council of India and others on the issues related to the functioning of virtual courts and came up with the first report to be presented by any Parliamentary Panel on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
