Law is like a hindu wife, who walks 10 steps behind the preperator of crime.
We have to change this notion and prepare ourselves to face the technological challenges.
OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE
People have a stereo-typed view about District Courts being slow, rigid and secretive.
Information & Communication Technology can help us change this impression and Courts can became more efficient, fast, responsible and user friendly.
Stakeholders in Courts
1. Judges
2. Litigants
3. Lawyers
4. Court Staff
5. General Public
6. Government
INFORMATION & COMMUNICATIONTECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION
INFORMATION & COMMUNICATIONTECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION
Information & Communication Technology is available for various uses in District Judiciary and allied areas and in some of the District Courts it is already in operation.
Information & Communication Technology implementation in District Courts is possible in the areas mentioned hereinafter.
Video-Conferencing
Technique
Court is connected to the Jail by ISDN Lines and at both the ends a camera unit and a display unit like, 29” TV Screen is provided with recording facility at the Court’s end.
Under-trial is produced at the Jail end. The Judge, Lawyers and witnesses etc. remain present in the Court and regular trial is conducted.
The judicial remand of the under-trial can also be extended without physically producing him in Court.
A Model Video Conferencing Court
Video-Conferencing
Benefits
Dreaded criminals can be tried without risk
Trial is expedited with use of this facility
Cost and manpower in producing undertrials only for remand extension can be saved
Multiple trials of an accused lodged in one jail is possible in different states
Evidence of witnesses unable to come to Court can be recorded
In child sexual offences, minor witness can be screened from the accused by use of this facility
Video-Conferencing
Practical Aspects
Judicial remand extension of undertrials is already done in Delhi, Hyderabad & Bangalore
Trial of Accused Telgi lodged in Pune Jail is conducted simultaneously in most of the states by using video conferencing facility
Possibility of recording evidence of Bharti Yadav in Nitish Katara murder case is being explored
Data of old cases is fed in computers using dedicated manpower
Data relates to date of filing, full description of parties, law provision invoked, property no., detail of witnesses, stage of trial, next date of hearing and advocate’s name etc.
Data is updated on daily basis without fail
Data Server Room
Data Management
Benefits
Cause-lists can be generated at the press of the button
Periodical statements can be easily generated
Cause-diary can be prepared as per set norms
Automatic marking of cases is possible
Age-wise / category-wise segregation of cases is possible
Data Management
Practical Aspect
Automatic marking of cases is functional in Hon’ble Supreme Court of India
Almost all the High Courts and some District Courts are maintaining upto date data-banks and preparing automatic cause-lists
Party name-wise, case number-wise, Act-wise searches are possible on these data-banks
Docket-Management
Technique
Files are given unique ID numbers
The unique IDs may be printed, bar-coded or embedded in an RFID tag
RFID / Bar-Coded Readers can be installed at strategic points
Active / In-active RFID tags can be used to identify the files
ACTIVE RFID TAG
Docket-Management
Benefits
Movement of the file can be easily tracked
Record – Keeper can immediately trace a file lying in a storage bin or in an almirah
Repeated labour of entering the file details in all documents is not required
RFID tags are re-useable
Docket-Management
Practical Aspects
Modern Libraries in Courts are already using Bar-Code facility for identifying the books
Unique IDs are generated for all files in software developed by NIC for different Courts
RFID tags are the latest concept which are used by shopping malls to prevent theft of articles
Digital Signatures
Technique
The data to be sent through internet / e-mail is encrypted by using the digital signature card provided by the Service Provider
The said data is then sent to the receiver through e-mail / internet in encrypted format
The receiver decrypts the data by using the verifier software provided by the Service Provider
Digital Signatures
Benefits
The communication can become 100% safe by using digital signatures
Release warrants can be sent from Courts to Jails within minutes of the passing of the order
Certified copies can be immediately issued by the copying branch as soon as the order is digitally signed
Incidents like release of Sher Singh Rana from Tihar Jail on the basis of forged release warrants can be avoided
Digital Signatures
Practical Aspects
In High Court of Delhi judgements are digitally signed side by side with physical signatures
Digital signatures have been issued to few Judges in District Courts of Delhi on experimental basis
Digital Signatures will be available to all the Judges in Delhi District Courts soon
Tihar Jail officers are also in the process of getting digital signatures
Web-Sites
Technique
Every District Court can have its own website giving information like, location, jurisdiction, cause-lists, judgments and facilities for litigants etc.
Website can be hosted at the servers of NIC
Data-bank of the Court is to be linked through high-speed lines with NIC Headquarters
Website is to be updated on daily basis
Web-Sites
Benefits
Upto date information is available to the lawyers and litigants
The Central Government & many State Governments have already implemented the Personnel Management System for their staff
Most of the big private organisations are effectively using this software
District Courts have also realised the utility of the Personnel Systems and are taking steps to put them in place
Financial Package Software
Technique
A specially developed financial package software for Courts is available with NIC
The package takes care of calculation of Court-fee, collection of fine, deposit of rent, witness expenses, certified copy charges and preparation of treasury release vouchers
The software runs in conjunction with the main application software of NIC
Financial Package Software
Benefits
Calculation of the Court fee and other charges has become very easy
Proper cash receipts are issued to the litigants / lawyers
Due to online transparency, chances of corruption are minimum
Periodical financial statements like budget can be generated easily
Financial Package Software
Practical Aspects
In Delhi the financial package is already in use
Similar finance packages are being used successfully by Public Sector Banks and MNCs
No special training is required to run this package
It is compatible with the Government Treasury Software, so it can be easily integrated with it
