HC directs Delhi govt to enhance Internet system in district courts within two weeks

Regarding the remaining sanctions/revalidations relating to other branches and projects of the district courts pending at Delhi government’s end for general matter, including those relating to the Recruitment Cell, Judicial Branch and pool car sanction, the bench said they shall be processed by the government within four weeks with advance intimation to the Delhi High Court. The high court was hearing a petition seeking to enlarge the functioning of courts, particularly family courts, in the prevalent times of restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Delhi High Court Tuesday directed the Delhi government to process within two weeks the project of digitisation and scanning of records and upgradation or enhancement of existing leased lines from 34 MBPS to 1 GBPS in each district court complexes here to enable smooth hearings through video conferencing. A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad, which conducted the hearing through video conferencing, made it clear that any “delay” in sanction of the connected issues relating to the project of digitisation and scanning of records and upgradation/enhancement of the existing leased lines for the district court complexes, shall be treated as an “attempt to impede access to justice” for the litigants and will be “viewed seriously”. “We may emphasise here that the committee constituted by the Chief Justice for Graded Opening of the High Court and the Subordinate Courts has directed that judicial officers would be entitled to work from home by conducting virtual hearings, it is imperative that sufficient bandwidth be provided to them to run the courts electronically,” the court said.

“The four pending items that are related to the project of digitisation/scanning of records and upgradation/enhancement of existing leased lines in the District Court Complexes shall be processed by the Delhi government within two weeks from today under advance intimation to the High Court,” it said. Regarding the remaining sanctions/revalidations relating to other branches and projects of the district courts pending at Delhi government’s end for general matter, including those relating to the Recruitment Cell, Judicial Branch and pool car sanction, the bench said they shall be processed by the government within four weeks with advance intimation to the Delhi High Court.

The high court was hearing a petition seeking to enlarge the functioning of courts, particularly family courts, in the prevalent times of restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. Pursuant to the court’s June 4 order, Additional Secretary(Law and Justice), Delhi government, filed a affidavit stating that administrative approval and concurrence of the Finance Department for sanction of expenditure of Rs 3 crores towards digitisation of approximately three crore pages of court files has been granted on June 11.

Similarly, administrative approval and expenditure sanction of Rs 3.20 crore has been granted for upgradation/enhancement of the existing leased lines from 34 mbps to 1gbps in all District Courts complexes, it said. The high court said the Delhi government ought to have realised that due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic followed by the lockdown, physical hearings in courts were not a viable option and keeping in mind the rise in the number of coronavirus cases in the national capital and the social distancing norms, holding virtual courts remains the need of the hour. The bench said this aspect was pointed out to the Delhi government even in May, when the entire country was in a lockdown, but did not elicit any positive response till orders were passed in this regard on the judicial side.

The high court directed the Delhi government to file a compliance affidavit on the four urgent issues within two weeks and another affidavit regarding the remaining matters within four weeks. It listed the matter for July 2. The plea has sought direction to all the family courts to allow recording of evidence via video conferencing during the restricted functioning of courts owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, either by the presiding judge of the family court or by a commission.

Earlier, the high court had sought suggestions from its registrar and various bar associations on the issue of expanding the functioning of family courts, including for recording of evidence through video conferencing (VC). The high court registrar had told the bench that the matters were being conducted in district courts via video conferencing within the limited bandwidth provided.

They had pointed out that despite repeated letters addressed by the District and Session Judge (Headquarters), Tis Hazari and the Registrar General of the high court to the Secretary (Law and Judicial), Delhi government for grant of administrative approval and sanction of expenditure for enhancement and upgradation of the existing lease lines from 34 MBPS to 1 GBPS in each district court complex except for Rouse Avenue court, no steps have been taken in that direction..