Raj: Witnesses to record statements through VC

Witnesses in Rajasthan now need not travel kilometres just to record a statement in person in the court. They can record their statements through video conferencing at VC Remote Point studios created at district courts across the state.

The judges at Banipark, Jaipur and Ganganagar Courts have commenced this facility successfully. The hardware to conduct the VC has been installed in 1242 courts of the state.

The high court had notified rules of recording statements through video conferencing on August 2, 2021, and the Rajasthan government was the first state in the country to amend the CRPC for this.

Sharat Kaviraj, the DIG of Special Operations Group of Rajasthan has become the first IPS officer to avail the facility. Kaviraj got recorded his statements as a witness through the VC in a prosecution sanction case heard in the Ganganagar Court while being present at Jaipur Metropolitan Court. The trial of the case is on in the Ganganagar court. Kaviraj says that he

used to travel 1000 km to the Ganganagar to record statements as the witness, making him absent for three days from the office. The VC will save time and speed up trials.

In the first phase, such VC Remote Points Studios have been made available in all the district courts. A coordinator, who is an employee of the court, is appointed to operate the studios. In the second phase, Taluka courts will get the VC Remote Points facility. V Saravan Kumar, the Special Secretary to the home department, said that the government offices and hospitals will be connected with this too.