e-JUSTICE

“Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

As we know justice delayed is justice denied, Indian courts need to become more transparent and accountable in their working process. Many countries around the globe record their court room proceedings. Fortunately, Calcutta High Court has set a precedent by recording the proceedings of a matter. Video recordings of the proceedings promote accountability and ensure transparency in the justice system.

In various cases we have seen contempt of court and advocates using improper language which demean the dignity of the court. If the court proceedings are recoded, they will be more careful about the usage of language before the camera which will ensure the dignity of our courts. Specially, with reference to rape victims misleading and unpleasant questions could be easily exposed and such practices can be curtailed. Our judicial system suffers with a lot of back log of cases. Video recordings would ensure efficiency as the statements by the witnesses could be recorded, thus, saving time of the court.

The practice of granting adjournments every now and then would be painfully exposed. There should be no discomfiture in videotaping court proceedings. Everything which is of general interest to the masses must be put under public scrutiny. Some matters run for over a decade in our courts and with the help of audio-visual aids we can easily understand the timeline of a case. When a case prolongs for years together a lot of documents pile up. Video recordings would reduce this bulky procedure and there would be no wastage of time in the documentation of legal submissions made before the court of law.

Technology is easily available. All we need to do is put our resources into use. If parliamentary proceedings can be telecast live, why not at least recorded versions of important court proceedings? Videos are better documents of record than typed sheets which are bulky in nature.

Transparency and accountability are important principles of democracy. We must realize the efficacy of democracy and allow audio-video recordings in our judicial system. Law has to evolve with the developing society and so does the system.

(This article duly acknowledges the work of Ms. Antara Dev Sen as this piece of work has been inspired from one of her articles)