For the first time in its 72-year history, the Supreme Court is conducting a “hackathon” event, sending a clear message that it is looking to the general public and the country’s youth to contribute innovations to improve the efficiency of the justice delivery system.
According to Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, the occasion would allow for “collaborative thinking.”
The aim is to “bring in evolution by including a new approach for updating the ecosystem by generating out-of-the-box, open, inventive ideas,” according to a statement from the Supreme Court.
The incident focuses attention on the court’s efforts to identify a unique and independent online platform to broadcast court sessions nationwide for public consumption.
Recently, the Supreme Court Registry was forced to rely on third-party apps and solutions since it was unable to provide live streaming of the Supreme Court’s sessions due to a lack of technical and infrastructure knowledge. The National Informatics Centre (NIC) webcast on YouTube is being used by the court to live-stream Constitution Bench hearings.
The Chandrachud Court has nevertheless launched a Right to Information (RTI) portal so that people can request information from the supreme court despite technical limitations. The court is aware that edited excerpts from court hearings are being misinterpreted by outside parties.
The court has come a long way from the days when the epidemic took it off guard, according to the Chief Justice, who has stated this numerous times. As the effects of the epidemic began to wear off and the time before fading away, the court was forced to improvise and switch from the conventional physical sessions to video conferencing.
Attorneys are currently participating in hearings both physically and online. For registered attorneys and media, the Supreme Court website offers an app. Additionally, attorneys and litigants who attend in person for their cases share virtual links via WebEx.
The Supreme Court should pay more consideration to providing smooth access to lawyers and litigants who may not even have a laptop or a cell phone to access justice, according to Chief Justice Chandrachud, who oversaw the court’s e-committee during the epidemic days.
The court is also working towards going paperless entirely. The first action in this direction has been taken by a Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice Chandrachud. Each of the five judges on the Bench hears cases while plugged next to a laptop or tablet instead of the customary heavy files.
The court is also working to enhance its automated method for listing cases before different Benches with the least amount of human interaction. Four of the court’s most senior judges publicly criticised their then-CJI for the selective scheduling of cases before particular Benches, causing one of the court’s greatest disputes.
Under Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul’s direction, the hackathon event would be planned. The Chief Justice, judges of the Supreme Court, and others would hear presentations of 18 of the greatest concepts. The participants’ suggestions should fall within the guidelines of the 2013 Supreme Court Rules.
