With district courts in Delhi lacking videoconferencing equipment, lawyers seek technology upgrade

The absence of infrastructure required for videoconferencing facilities in Delhi’s district courts is hampering online proceedings, say lawyers.

Courts in Delhi pivoted toward hybrid hearings, where at least one party participates in person in the courtroom while others participate remotely, in the aftermath of COVID-19. The Delhi High Court has since issued several guidelines on how such proceedings should be managed. However, lawyers claim that district courts still lack cameras and video displays to allow parties to communicate with each other.

Slow implementation

Advocate Anil Kumar Hajelay, who filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea in the Delhi High Court in 2021 to address these gaps, voiced his frustration at the slow pace of change. “Many courtrooms still don’t have the necessary infrastructure, such as microphones, speakers, cameras, and video displays, to facilitate hybrid hearings. The lack of equipment hampers communication between parties physically present in court and those appearing online,” he said.

Several lawyers echoed similar concerns. Advocate Akash Bajpai pointed out that in several courts, there are no microphones for the parties presenting their cases in person, making it difficult for those participating remotely to hear them. Additionally, Mr. Bajpai pointed out the absence of cameras and screens to aid smooth communication between virtual and physical participants.

Advocate Tushar Sannu said some improvement had been made since the High Court’s intervention but stressed that much more needs to be done. “For instance, in many courts, a person arguing through videoconferencing cannot see what the opposing party is arguing. Only the judge can communicate with both sides. This makes the hybrid setup far from effective.”

Mr. Sannu said hybrid systems in district courts should be modelled after the system installed to enable the same in the High Court, which has cameras facing the courtroom and microphones available for both plaintiffs and defendants.

Timeline of events

In June last year, the High Court issued directions to all district courts to permit parties or their counsel to appear via videoconferencing without prior request. Later, in December, it took notice of the severe shortage of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) equipment in district courts. It also issued directions to the Delhi government to expedite administrative and financial sanctions to install ICT equipment in all district courtrooms of the city.

In April this year, the Public Works Department (PWD) provided an initial estimate of ₹387 crore to install the necessary equipment, following which the High Court instructed the Delhi Chief Secretary to fast-track the approval process.

However, at a hearing on September 30, the court criticised the Planning and Finance Departments for failing to grant the required approvals. “Such conduct by the bureaucracy cannot be countenanced,” the court observed.

It has set the next hearing for October 24, warning that if the required actions are not taken within two weeks, the Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary (Finance) of the Delhi government would have to appear in person to explain their position.

Published – October 17, 2024 01:25 am IST

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