NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Saturday strongly defended its “virtual courts system”, saying the institutional requirement was to ensure the “administration of justice” does not crumble in the face of a pandemic.
The apex court, which is hearing only urgent matters through video link, backed its performance during the lockdown with data, and said it has heard matters on 22 days until May 1.
It said 116 benches assembled during the period, which included 73 benches for adjudicating review petitions.
The practice of holding court hearings through video conferencing has been criticised by some quarters on the ground that the system does not adhere to the concept of “Open Courts”.
Lawyers have complained that they are facing varied problems from sending a PDF file of their applications to convincing the judge of the urgency of the matter and address their arguments through video link. In a 38-page note released on Saturday night, the apex court strongly defended its virtual courts and said,
“There cannot be divergent views about the fact that justice cannot be spoon-fed.
“The advantages of the Virtual Court System, especially in terms of time, energy and money saved by the litigants and counsels in ensuring their presence before a court are innumerable and could be game-changers too,” it said. (PTI)
