Consider the Following statements regarding e-courts, launched recently in India: 1. They will facilitate hearing of cases via videoconferencing. 2. They will follow the same procedures that are laid out for the bench for hearing appeals in an open court. which of the statements given above is/are correct?

The e-Courts Mission Mode Project is a flagship initiative aimed at modernizing the Indian judiciary through ICT. Statement 1 is correct as the project has significantly facilitated court hearings via video conferencing (VC); as of 2024, over 3.38 crore cases have been heard through VC across District and High Courts [4]. Statement 2 is also correct because the e-Courts project involves 'Judicial Process Re-engineering' to ensure that digital procedures align with established judicial standards. The project aims to automate processes while maintaining transparency and accessibility, following the same legal principles as open court hearings. Model rules for VC and live streaming have been circulated to ensure that virtual proceedings mirror the procedural integrity of physical benches [4]. Thus, e-courts maintain the procedural sanctity of open courts while leveraging technology for efficiency.

Sources

1. [1] https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2024/dec/doc20241217473201.pdf
2. [4] https://ecourts.gov.in/ecourts_home/static/about-us.php