Virtual courts: Govt procuring 1,500 additional licences

New Delhi, October 19

In a bid to facilitate virtual court hearings amid Covid-19 pandemic, officials said the government has initiated the process of procuring 1,500 additional video-conferencing licences at a cost of Rs 9 crore. The proposed facilities would be deployed at high courts and district courts, they added.

According to the data collated by the Ministry of Law & Justice since the government imposed the lockdown, the high courts and the district courts have heard over 26 lakh cases in virtual medium.

Between March 24 and September 31, the 25 HCs of the country collectively heard 6,88,318 cases via video-conferencing and nearly 19,000 district courts heard 19,33,492 cases virtually in the period.

“The new proposed licences are required for legal and extended use of the video-conference facility software,” the officials said. — TNS