Gujarat HC’s digital initiatives

• IAS NEXT, Lucknow
• 22, Jan 2022

Reference News:-

Two digital services for Gujarat High court — a ‘Justice Clock’, and electronic payment of court fee, were recently inaugurated.

What is the ‘Justice Clock’?

• It is an LED display of 7 feet by 10 feet, placed at a height of 17 feet from the ground.
• Placed in high court premises.
• This ‘Justice Clock’ will exhibit vital statistics of the justice delivery system in Gujarat, to “maximise outreach and visibility” of the work done by the state judiciary.

What is e-court fee and how will it help?

The online e-Courts fee system allows advocate and parties to procure judicial stamps online through electronic payment and upon submission of a PDF receipt. 

Significance of these initiatives:

• The two digital initiatives add to a slew of other digital measures the Gujarat HC has undertaken to cope with Covid-19.
• Digital transformation brings in transparency and openness in court proceedings and also provides a glimpse to the public at large of how judges function.

Need for Digitization?

Perception about Indian courts is that courts justice delivery is with long delays and difficult for ordinary litigants. It is expected that technology will revolutionaries the justice delivery.

Judiciary’s Efforts During Pandemic:

1. In the wake of the pandemic, courts began using facilities like e-filing in true earnest.
2. In May 2020, the Supreme Court also introduced another innovation: a new system of e-filing and artificial intelligence-enabled referencing.
3. The latest Vision Document for Phase III of the e-Courts Project seeks to address the judiciary’s digital deprivation. It envisages an infrastructure for the judicial system that is ‘natively digital’ and reflects the effect that the pandemic has had on India’s judicial timeline and thinking.