Just virtually

The pandemic has pushed courts to undergo a technological evolution, but is it working? Gautam Kagalwala reports

before the pandemic reached Indian shores, video conferencing was used in some cases for recording evidence in areas such as matrimonial disputes, where one of the parties was residing abroad. But the situation upended once the nationwide lockdown came into place at the end of March, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech. Unable to conduct physical hearings, courts have been pushed to embrace video conferencing technologies.

Lawyers say measures to digitize the court system that would have taken 10 years have now been fast tracked to happen in two. This transition is underway, and the courts have gradually increased their capacity and frequency to hear more cases virtually.

This has also allowed judges to see a new side of advocates. During a hearing in June, seeing statues and antiques as the backdrop of senior advocate and former attorney general Mukul Rohatgi’s room, Chief Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde quizzed him on whether he was in a museum. Rohatgi replied he had moved to his farmhouse so he could swim regularly.

Apart from computers and laptops, some lawyers have also been using smartphones and iPads to log into hearings. This freedom has allowed them to appear from unconventional places. “I have noticed lawyers appearing from their homes, offices, chambers and sometimes even sitting in their cars, and in parks,” says senior advocate Vikas Pahwa. The series of amusing exchanges between judges and advocates over video conferences has given birth to the popular hashtag #CourtroomExchange on Twitter, which documents these encounters.