The Uttarakhand High Court has gifted a unique system of mobile E-court vans to the people of the state.
Equipped with an Internet facility and computers, the vans were flagged off by High Court Chief Justice RS Chauhan from the court premises soon after the flag hoisting ceremony on the occasion of Independence Day.
A brainchild of the Chief Justice, the mobile E-court vans are an attempt to serve justice to the furthest corners of the hill state, authorities said.
The facility of e-court vans will initially be provided in Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Champawat and Pithoragarh districts.
Once the experiment succeeds in these districts, it will be extended to the rest.
“Not only will this step bring justice to the deserving, but also save a lot of time thereby ensuring speedy trials,” said Dhananjay Chaturvedi, Registrar General of the High Court.
Witnesses who are elderly and sick and cannot come to the court, women and children in far-flung areas and formal witnesses such as doctors and police officers will be the main beneficiaries of this facility, he added.
The Chief Justice said witnesses such as doctors who prepare medical reports or police officials who file FIRs or prepare other kinds of reports have to be present before the court.
Once these people are transferred, it becomes complicated for them to be present in the court when required, Chauhan said.
This leads to delay in trials as well as delay in the witnesses discharging their official duties, he said.
The E-Court vans will map the physical distances between Courts and witnesses thereby reducing consumption of time, the Chief Justice said.
Uttarakhand is the first state in the country to start this service as a step towards providing speedy justice to people especially those in remote areas.