Superior courts going digital; virtual court hearings soon

SC judges expedite moves, as Justice Minister reveals that tens of thousands of cases had been pending for decades

The Supreme Court has decided to permit e- filing of cases and Virtual Court Hearings (VCH) to be conducted in the country, starting from the superior courts.

These new procedures are expected to come into force early next year.

Several committees of Supreme Court Justices are now drafting the rules which would be gazetted and passed in Parliament.

Discussions on online cases have been going on for several years but were intensified after the COVID- 19 pandemic and the lockdown which resulted in a major disruption of court activities with the laws’ delays getting further delayed.

Some courts already have facilities for e-filings. The Justice Ministry and several donor agencies have agreed to extend monetary assistance to improve facilities so that a host of other court related activities can be conducted virtually.

These include granting of case dates with the participation of the concerned parties, making written and oral submissions and recording of evidence. Steps are also being taken to set up the infrastructure facilities to proceed smoothly.

Moves to expedite digitisng the country’s judicial process come amid renewed scrutiny regarding lengthy delays in court proceedings. In answer to a question raised by the Opposition, Justice Minister Ali Sabry told Parliament earlier this month that at present as many as 231,506 cases were being heard in district courts alone.

The Minister revealed that about 4,620 cases had been heard for more than 20 years without a decision, while 3,418 cases had been pending for 15-20 years. The number of cases that had been heard for 10-15 years stood at 8,947 while 20,586 cases had been pending for between 5 and 10 years. A total of 49,801 cases had been heard for between 1 and 5 years.