Coronavirus scare: Delhi HC experimenting with video conference facility to conduct proceedings

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday said it was experimenting with holding proceedings through video conferencing in view of the coronavirus pandemic and the system would probably be in place by next week.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar said experiments and trial runs were being conducted to ensure that the system works smoothly and successfully.

From next week proceedings through video conferencing might be seen in a few cases, the court said.

"Wait for 2-3 days. We are experimenting. It will probably be done by Monday (March 23). On Monday we want to conduct one matter by video conferencing. We have installed the system at our residence and here (high court) and rehearsals have been done.

"We will do some more rehearsal to ensure we can do it successfully," the bench said while hearing a plea seeking holding of court proceedings through video conferencing to ensure that no person infected with COVID-19 comes to the court premises.

The number of novel coronavirus cases in India rose to 151 on Wednesday after four more were reported from various parts of the country, according to the Health Ministry.

The cases include 25 foreign nationals and the three persons who died in Delhi, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

The plea by an 82-year-old widow, Jamna Datwani, has said that conducting proceedings through video conferencing "would be nothing but an excellent manifestation of the spirit underlying the most effective remedy against this pandemic i.e social distancing".

The petitioner, who is involved in several litigations in various courts, also suggested use of social media platforms like Skype and WhatsApp to conduct court proceeding through video calls and having time slots for each matter.

The court appreciated the suggestions, saying many of them have been already considered by its internal Administrative and General Supervision Committee which is looking into measures to prevent or contain spread of COVID-19 in court premises, including at the district level.

The bench said that "on the administrative side the high court will consider all the aspects and suggestions" given by the petitioner and listed the matter for further hearing on April 21.

During the hearing, the counsel for the petitioner said the Bombay HC has beaten the Delhi High Court in use of video conferencing for conducting court proceedings.

To this, the bench said, "We are not in a race. If another high court does something good, we will also do it. We are working for ensuring access to justice.