Finance
In order to improve transparency and accessibility of judicial hearings to the general public, the Supreme Court has begun live broadcasting of all court events on its official website.
The weblink https://appstreaming.sci.gov.in features the option to watch the proceedings live.
Until date, the Supreme Court has live-streamed sessions of the Constitution Bench and other hearings of national importance on YouTube.
Furthermore, it used artificial intelligence and natural language processing technology to live-transcribe major proceedings.
The recent Supreme Court hearings in the NEET-UG and R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital suo moto cases drew a large public response.
In its decision in the Swapnil Tripathi (2018) case, the Supreme Court advocated the live streaming of significant sessions. The full court then resolved to live-stream the sessions of the Constitution benches so that residents from all over the country may observe the top court’s deliberations.
In August last year, during the Constitution Bench hearing in “Re: Article 370 of the Constitution”, Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud had said the top court was setting up its own cloud software for video conferencing to enable virtual hearings in all lower courts across the country.
“In Phase III of eCourts (Project), we have a huge budget, so we are in the process of setting up our own cloud software for video conferencing,” he said.
The Chief Justice stated that during the pandemic, courts throughout India held up to 43 million hearings via virtual mode.
Under the leadership of CJI Chandrachud, who is set to leave office on November 10, the statue of Lady Justice in the Supreme Court’s judges’ library now holds a copy of the Indian Constitution instead of a sword, and the blindfold has been removed, revealing her eyes. Traditionally, the blindfold represented equality before the law, implying that the administration of justice should be unaffected by the parties’ status, riches, or power. The sword has long represented authority and the ability to punish wrong.
However, the scales of justice in Lady Justice’s right hand have been preserved, symbolizing societal balance and the importance of carefully considering evidence and arguments from both sides before reaching a decision.
Source: IANS
