Taking a stern view of some High Courts and tribunals doing away with virtual hearings, the Supreme Court on Monday reminded that technology was not meant only for the pandemic but “is here to stay for future, forever”. Giving vent to his disillusionment while hearing a plea which sought a declaration that virtual hearings are a fundamental right, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, heading a three-judge bench, said, "I think all Chief Justices of High Courts need to learn that they have to be on board. There are no exceptions." Reminding that the infrastructure was built using public funds, the CJI said "irrespective of whether a Chief Justice is technology friendly or not, this is not how you deal with public money. The public money has been spent, you have to ensure that the infrastructure is available.". The bench, also comprising Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala, touched upon the issue of some judges insisting on the physical presence of lawyers. "The other viewpoint is we judges come for physical hearing, so why should lawyers appear online! That begs the point - the conditions in which the judges come to work are very different from the conditions in which the Bar has to work," said the CJI. Bar Council of India Vice President Advocate S Prabakaran pointed to difficulties in accessing technology in rural areas. To this, the CJI responded, "Therefore the answer is not to ban technology. The answer is to make technology available to the grassroots. Technology must reach out to every taluka court in the country. That's why part of phase 3 of the e-courts project, we are setting up e-seva kendras. Lawyers who do not have access to the internet. can go to the e-seva kendra and get all the facilities which are available." He pointed out that the e-committee has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Common Service Centres Corporation of the Government of India. "We must reach out. Whether the Chief Justice of a particular High Court takes interest or not, you may not take interest, you may understand nothing of technology, but you are duty bound to spend public funds which have been made available by the Government of India to foster the mission for access to justice," said the CJI. CJI Chandrachud said "some tribunals have just disbanded as if to say technology was only during the pandemic". He added, "I am sorry. Technology is not something for the pandemic. Technology is here to stay for the future, forever." A senior counsel pointed out that in some courtrooms, there are judges who discourage lawyers from appearing virtually. CJI Chandrachud then said the Parliamentary Committee had come to the SC, the first-time ever, when Justice N V Ramana was CJI. "It was very receptive. I made a presentation for almost three hours before the committee. This was the first time the committee came to the SC. CJI Ramana attended the meeting with me. We had detailed discussions. The committee made a very strong report on a plea for better funds to the judiciary. Now Rs 7,000 crore has been allocated to the judiciary. These funds are not for us personally., We are going to use them at the grassroots level. We will also say that the HC CJs need to look at it now to take this mission forward." A lawyer pointed out that in Madhya Pradesh, e-courts were inaugurated across the state after spending a good amount on October 11, 2021, but 13 days later, a fresh Standard Operating Procedure said virtual courts are completely closed. Responding to this, the CJI said, "The problem lies where you have Chief Justices who think technology is friendly. Other Chief Justices think the other way. I am going to ensure that everybody is in line. There's no question of I like technology, I don’t, anymore. Everybody uses cell phones, you better use it. Likewise, this technological infrastructure has been provided using public funds. I think all Chief Justices of High Courts need to learn that they have to be on board. There are no exceptions. Equally, we are deeply concerned about lawyers across the country, we must reach out to them." The bench told BCI Chairman Senior Advocate Manan Kumar Mishra and Prabakaran to suggest what the court should do to ensure it provides these services to every lawyer in the country at the first level.
