The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Laptops for judges soon

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 05, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Laptops for judges soon

Special Correspondent

Supreme Court also exploring the concept of e-courts "The State Government will favourably consider all requests made by law officers"

CHENNAI: The Supreme Court was taking the lead in successful implementation of IT initiatives in the judiciary and all judges in the country will soon be provided laptops and Internet connection, Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology Dayanidhi Maran said on Sunday.

The Supreme Court was also exploring the concept of e-courts, whereby lawyers could make virtual appearances through videoconferencing from other locations. Digitally signed court documents would be made available online, he said inaugurating the wi-fi facility at the Madras Bar Association during the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the Law Officers' Building and the inauguration of digital display boards at the Madras High Court.

The Madras High Court was equipped with state-of-the-art technological solutions and most judicial documents were available online, Mr. Maran said inaugurating the IVRS system at the Government Pleader's office.

"The IT department decided to assist the High Court's computerisation drive as a very special case outside the general government sanctions and allotted Rs. 3.48 crore immediately. The first phase of a new project for computerising 13,000 district and sub courts in the country will be done at a cost of Rs. 442 crore by the National Informatics Centre," Mr. Maran said. In Tamil Nadu alone, the project would cost Rs. 24.94 crore.

The State Government would favourably consider all requests made by law officers, Law Minister M. Durai Murugan said.

Information technology had changed the mode of working of the justice delivery system, A.P. Shah, Chief Justice, Madras High Court, said. Some of the requirements of the judicial system were elimination of arrears, timely disposal of cases and enhancement of infrastructure, he said.

V.S. Sirpurkar and AR. Lakshmanan, Supreme Court judges; R. Shanmugasundaram, Member of Parliament; S.J. Mukhopadhaya and P. Sathasivam, High Court judges; R. Viduthalai, Advocate- General; V.T. Gopalan, additional Solicitor-General; T.V. Ramanujan, president, Madras Bar Association and R.C. Paul Kanagaraj, president, Madras High Court Advocates Association, spoke.

CJ's assurance

Later, at a felicitation function organised in his honour, Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan said the Madras High Court was held in high esteem throughout the country. As Chief Justice, he "may sometimes fall, err or commit mistakes but [will] discharge my responsibility to the [faith] of the confidentiality [reposed] in me."

The function was organised by the Madras High Court Advocates Association, Madras Bar Association, Women Lawyers' Association, Law Association and Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry.

Justice Balakrishnan also inaugurated the Indian Law Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Judicial representatives who spoke at the function expressed the need to have a bench of the Supreme Court in Chennai.

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