SRINAGAR, Dec 1: The two-day North Zone-I Regional Conference on “Court Dockets: Explosion & Exclusion,” organized by the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal, and hosted by the High Court of J&K and Ladakh, alongside the Jammu & Kashmir Judicial Academy, concluded today at SKICC, Srinagar.
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The second day of the conference included two technical sessions. The first session featured Justice Rajesh Bindal, Judge of the Supreme Court of India, and Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque, Judge of the High Court of Kerala, who spoke about the e-Courts Project and the need for strategies to address the digital divide. Justice Bindal pointed out that inadequate equipment and infrastructure remain significant challenges for judges, lawyers, and litigants. He insisted on the necessity for strong internal regulations covering three main stakeholders: judges, lawyers, and litigants, to ensure equitable access to technology, bandwidth, and training.
Justice Mustaque, with the assistance of a PowerPoint presentation, delved into bridging the digital divide and promoting e-services while highlighting the significance of inclusivity in technology’s role in facilitating a robust justice delivery system. He noted that integrating technology into judicial processes can improve efficiency, accessibility, and transparency and help alleviate the backlog of cases, boosting public trust in the legal framework. He also outlined four principles of digital accessibility: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust.
The second technical session was presided over by Justice N. Kotiswar Singh, Judge of the Supreme Court of India, with Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque and Justice M. Sundar from the High Court of Madras as resource persons. Justice Singh stressed the critical role of case management in preventing backlogs and ensuring swift justice, urging judges to adhere to timelines and avoid unnecessary delays in case processing.
In the concluding session, Justice Sundar addressed the potential impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on judicial decision-making, outlining how technologies like AI and blockchain are transforming legal processes. He argued that by embracing these innovations, the judiciary could enhance governance, security, and efficiency, paving the way for future developments.
Justice Mustaque also presented the ON-courts portal service, successfully launched at the High Court of Kerala, aimed at ensuring transparency and an efficient justice delivery system. He further introduced the concept of digital courts, which simplify judicial and administrative processes.
Sonia Gupta, Director of the J&K Judicial Academy, moderated the technical sessions on the second day of the conference. The interactive nature of the sessions encouraged participants to engage actively, share their experiences, and discuss various subject-related challenges, with resource persons readily addressing numerous queries raised.
