Instant Justice

E-COURTS:The idea of Justice may undergo a change

It's time to say good bye to the traditional processes of delivering justice. If everything runs as ‘programmed’, then judges in Orissa can hear an under trial prisoner’s (UTP’s) pleas locked in cell, while sitting in their courtrooms. Within a few months, this could become a routine exercise in Orissa and other states.This is a part of an ambitious and revolutionary Rs 8.54 billion national ‘e-court’ project launched recently in Orissa. The main objective of e-court, as the Chief Justice of Orissa High Court, A.K. Ganguly said, is to ensure speedy, cost-effective and transparent dispersion of justice.As per the script, judges will be seen entering the court-room with laptops in hand and to that end, 15,000 laptops have been distributed to judges, and an 'Aam Aadmi' can, theoretically, lodge cases while sitting in an internet café. Apart from this, the e-court would provide digital interconnectivity between all the courts, from the block level to Supreme Court.The project, which includes being able to file cases through the internet, will be made functional in three phases in the next five years. The Centre has spent about Rs. 350 crores for this purpose. By the end of first phase, the facilities for examination of UTPs through video conferencing would be ensured, which is also expected to put a stop to the system of transporting UTPs from jail to courts.Currently, about 15, 000 UTPs are lodged in six jails of Orissa and about 10 lakh cases are pending in various courts. "Although the existing scenario cannot be changed overnight, we can certainly bring improvements in the system of delivering justice,’’ Chief Justice Ganguly said.Senior lawyer and Secretary of the Orissa High-Court Bar Association, Asim Amitabh Das, adds a word of caution: "In Orissa, the judiciary is desperately short on manpower, which could put the success of the e-court project into jeopardy.’’ And then, haven't we heard of many such tall promises coming to naught when it comes to actual delivery of justice?

Dhrutikam Mohanty