The entire world has been upended by Covid-19, with many countries going into lockdown to curb the spread of the pandemic. India too has fo...
The entire world has been upended by Covid-19, with many countries going into lockdown to curb the spread of the pandemic. India too has followed suit by imposing a 21-day lockdown.
Only essential services are allowed to function during this period. Crucial government departments are carrying on work, many with skeletal staff. In these unusual times, the judiciary has been left to decide its own course of action. The High Courts and the Supreme Court have responded to the public health crisis by suspending judicial and administrative work, while making exceptions for urgent matters. To meet the need for social distancing, courts are allowing appearances via videoconferencing and e-filing of documents.
On Monday, a Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde, Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice LN Rao “issued a slew of directions...in order to streamline the functioning of courts via video conferencing” during lockdown, Live Law reported.
These are welcome measures, of course – they update India’s antiquated court processes. But it is a pity that measures increasing access to justice have been implemented to avoid a contagion, not to improve the quality of justice. Even so, the difficulties with which they have been implemented, while understandable given the circumstances, show that the judiciary’s modernisation should...
