LI Network
Published on: 09 July 2023 at 14:18 IST
India is set to introduce 24/7 virtual courts to handle a variety of cases, marking a significant improvement from the current virtual courts that exclusively deal with traffic challans.
The Ministry of Law has called for proposals from judicial academies, law universities, IIMs, and IITs to conduct a comprehensive research study on the implementation of these virtual courts. The objective is to minimize the need for physical presence of violators or advocates in court and reduce footfalls in the courts.
The notice inviting proposals states that virtual courts can be managed by virtual judges with jurisdiction extended to the entire state and operating round the clock. The study aims to explore the elimination of the need for litigants to physically attend court proceedings and judges to physically preside over cases, resulting in the saving of valuable judicial time.
The Ministry of Law regularly collaborates with reputed institutions to conduct research studies for improving the justice delivery system. The selected institutions will be expected to provide innovative suggestions and proof of concept based on extensive research, which can be further applied to handle other types of cases through virtual courts.
Furthermore, proposals have been invited to evaluate the performance of commercial courts, including their adherence to timelines for the disposal of commercial cases. Currently, there are 21 virtual courts operating in 17 states and Union Territories, exclusively dealing with traffic challan cases. These virtual courts have successfully handled over 2.4 crore cases, collecting online fines exceeding Rs 360 crore.
Please note that this paraphrased response is based on the given information and does not reflect any current or official developments in India’s legal system.
