Dist courts video-linked with jails

GANDHINAGAR: Gujarat may soon witness mandatory production of prisoners on trial before district and sessions courts through video-conferencing. All the 27 district and sessions courts in the state have been linked to 24 jails through video-conferencing technology and trial runs are being carried out with the help of the judiciary at the local level.
"There is a Supreme Court direction in this regard for all the states but we have emerged frontrunners in implementing the system," said an official of the home department.
Officials explained that it is mandatory to produce prisoners on trial before the courts every 15 days. "Their production is a cumbersome process that not only involves their transportation but also their security. The logistics of the entire exercise results in wastage of the judiciary's time which can otherwise be utilized for trial and disposal of cases," said the official.
He further said that once the system is in place, only one judge and a court clerk can oversee the procedure from a room in the court complex while it is linked to prisoners in jail.
"Besides time, a lot of money that is spent on fuel will also be saved. There will be no security hassles and corruption will also be curtailed as prisoners will not be able to mix with people outside the prison," the officer said.
Sources said that while the government has done its share of the work by putting the required infrastructure in place, the process can formally begin once the judiciary at the local level prepares a road map.
The sources also said that, in the future, the system can also be used for trial of high-profile prisoners accused of the most heinous crimes.
"It is very important to have a proper system of producing prisoners before the courts to ensure that precious time and energy of the courts is utilized to bring down the pendency of cases. Unfortunately, there was no such system in place till now," said an official.