On Friday, a bench of the Supreme Court chaired by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud ordered all high courts to make sure that no member of the bar is denied access to video conference facilities or hearings through hybrid facilities.While the bench was debating a claim that the Punjab and Haryana High Court had fully stopped using video conferencing for sessions, the directive was given. The Supreme Court sent notices to all high courts and tribunals regarding the matter during the previous hearing.The court rulesThe court further ruled that high courts should make sure that all attorneys and plaintiffs who appear before them have free access to internet services, including WiFi. The court further stated that there should not be a need to submit a separate application for virtual hearings and that the connections available through video conferencing should be made available in the cause list of the relevant court.In addition, the top court raised concern that some high courts were abandoning virtual sessions and claimed that the central government had approved Rs 7,000 crore to assure the provision of video conferencing equipment.The Supreme Court bench then gave the Union IT ministry instructions to make sure that internet connectivity is offered to all courts in the Northeast region in order to facilitate virtual hearings.CJI speaksAccording to the CJI, a judge can no longer choose whether or not to be tech-friendly. Technology, he continued, is just as crucial as legal texts.“If you want to be a judge, you have to be tech-friendly. If you want to be a judge in this country, you must know technology, and every judge needs to be trained. Even the Supreme Court judges have been trained in training centers,” he added.(Image Source: X/Twitter)The Chief Justice pulled up certain high courts for not adopting technological changes. “Allahabad (High Court) is a complete offender,” said the CJI. He also reprimanded the Bombay High Court for stopping virtual hearings. He observed that it was his parents high court and said traveling in a city like Mumbai is difficult.
