'Digital courts will alleviate congestion in traditional courts.'
India's first digital court for handling cheque bounce cases, called 24*7 ONCOURTS, was inaugurated on Friday, August 16, in Kollam by Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai of the Supreme Court.
The initiative will ensure court processes are conducted online, right from the filing stage through case registration, admission, appearances, hearings, and passing of judgments and orders.
Depending on its success, new ONCOURTS may be established across the state.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan hailed this as a historic day for Kerala's judiciary.
Chief Justice of India Dr D Y Chandrachud, who was slated to launch several other key initiatives aimed at harnessing technology to enhance judicial efficiency, was not present during the event due to unforeseen circumstances.
"The initiative has automated the entire life cycle of a case. Roughly, cheque bouncing cases constitute 10 per cent of total cases. Hence, automation means that productivity goes up and pendency goes down," said Nandan Nilekani, co-founder and non-executive chairman of Infosys.
"Similarly, Motor Vehicles Act cases constitute 10 per cent or more. "If the process of dealing with these cases is automated, 20 to 25 per cent of cases will be resolved," Nilekani added.
The ONCOURT project will begin accepting cases from September onwards and will hear cheque dishonour cases.
Chief Minister Vijayan also inaugurated the special courts in Ernakulam and Alappuzha, dedicated to handling cases under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act, 2019.
Talking about the integration of technology and courts, Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V of the Kerala high court said it makes the process more accessible and predictable.
"There will be a smart scheduling system so that hearings are held on time. It will offer support and guidance to litigants, informing them of their case status in real time," Justive Vijayaraghavan ex[lained.
"The court will be linked with important institutions such as banks and police, making the exchange of information a breeze," the judge added.
"Communication and tracking are easy. Four APIs will be put out. This will cover case status, case metadata, orders, and judgments. This will be open when the court goes online next month," Justice Vijayaraghavan added.
"We have used cutting-edge technology for security. We will use it for 14 courts. It is Justice Mustaque's (Acting Kerala high court Chief Justice A Muhamed Mustaque) baby. This is just the beginning," the judge said.
The 'We-Solv Vimaal Solution Maker', an online dispute resolution system developed by the Kerala judiciary, was also launched by Justice Gavai.
The platform has been designed to facilitate online deliberations among stakeholders, streamline the dispute resolution process, and enhance efficiency, accessibility, and transparency in dispute resolution.
"Digital courts will alleviate congestion in traditional courts," said Justice Mustaque.
The CCTV surveillance unit, including a state-of-the-art control room in the high court complex, was inaugurated by Kerala's Finance Minister K N Balagopal.
Kerala's Law Minister P Rajeeve spoke about the Digital Empowering Kerala initiative, which will enhance digital literacy and Internet accessibility.
A Model Digital Courtroom, developed by the Kerala high court to overcome the limitations of raditional courtrooms by optimising the Iinternet and computer technology, was also launched on the occasion by Justice Gavai. He also launched the learning management system, digital district courts, and the annual report of the Kerala Judicial Academy.
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
