Jail inmates to be brought before courts – virtually

Now jail inmates in Uttar Pradesh need not be taken physically to the courts, they will be presented virtually – through video conferencing.
The state government has planned to introduce video conferencing system in seven prisons in June.

“The new technology is being introduced in jails taking into account the heavy rush of inmates, especially for custody remands. In the next phase, the trial would also be conducted through video conferencing,” Ghaziabad Dasna Jail Superintendent V.K. Singh told IANS.

He said officials of the internet providing agency BSNL and National Informatics Centre (NIC) have visited the sites. A conference room is being made ready to install equipments.

“The officials of software companies NIC and HCL have visited the especially designed room in the court. The computerisation of all the courts is in progress. But video conference room will be a sole room in the entire court compound where remand cases would be heard,” a senior judicial official told IANS.

In the first phase, jail inmates brought for custody remands would be presented before the court. But in the second phase, the trial court would interact through video conferencing as is being done in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

“Though rules permit us to conduct trials through video conferencing, but we are conducting only remand cases initially. Trial case would be through video conferencing only in exceptional cases,” the official said.