PM Modi advocates use of IT for speedy delivery of justice

He also assured Chief Justice of India JS Khehar the government will make all efforts to back his resolve to reduce burden on the judiciary and bring down pendency of cases. “The government wants that the judicial system of our country makes full use of information and communication technology. This should be given priority,” he said, adding, “This can help save a lot of time and money.” 

Addressing a function to mark 150 years of the Allahabad High Court, Modi said, “I assure the Chief Justice that government will back his ‘sankalp’ (resolve) to bring down the burden on the judiciary and reduce pendency of cases.” He also said video conferencing should be used for deposition made in courts by undertrials, witnesses and officials to prevent wastage of time and money. 

“So many precious hours of officials, which should have been spent doing administrative tasks, gets used up in travelling to far-off places to appear in courts. This can be obviated through video-conferencing,” he said. 

The Prime Minister noted that security concerns associated with physical production of undertrials in courts could be addressed by use of video conferencing. Many unfortunate incidents have taken place in Uttar Pradesh during transportation of undertrials to courts but with Yogi Adityanath as Chief Minister, there may be a drop in such incidents, Modi remarked, evoking peals of laughter. 

The Prime Minister recalled that during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls campaign he had said that he would abolish archaic laws if elected and the government has now done away with 1,200 redundant laws. “It is in the interest of justice that the people of the country are liberated from this huge, complicated tangle of laws,” he said. 

Quoting the address of the then president S Radhakrishnan at the centenary celebrations of the High Court five decades back, Modi said every law must ensure justice and welfare of all, not just the rich and this principle remains relevant. 

The CJI asked the judges to consider sitting in courts for five days during vacation to clear at least 10 cases each day and bring down the pendency.