Supreme Court reopens today with IT-enabled courtrooms: LED video wall, WiFi facility, and many more

Today, the Supreme Court reopens after a six-week-long summer vacation and will witness a major digital change in the courtrooms for the first time in the 73-year history of the Supreme Court. The familiar sight of the top Court’s courtrooms where piles of petitions were towered on the judge’s desks and racks along the wall with volumes of previous judgments since 1950 will be replaced by IT-enabled courtrooms. A senior official of the Supreme Court said that “As the SC reopens on Monday after the summer vacation, courtrooms 1 to 3 will see futuristic features to bring a technologically advanced environment to the courtrooms. The upgrades, all energy-efficient green initiatives, have been incorporated to implement CJI DY Chandrachud’s dynamic vision for optimizing the use of technology in judiciary and justice delivery systems.” He further mentioned that the technology-based changes which will be visible today include state-of-the-art digital video conferencing for communication and collaboration. It will allow virtual meetings and remote participation further enhancing the accessibility and connectivity of the proceedings. Moreover, a futuristic LED video wall was also installed in the courtrooms for the same.

An official circular was issued by the Supreme Court stating that a free WiFi facility will be made available for all litigants, media persons, advocates, and other stakeholders visiting the Court. It mentioned that “For the present, this facility will be available at the CJI’s Court, Court No. 2 to 5, including the corridor and plaza in front, both waiting areas in the front plaza canteen and press lounge- I & II, with effect from Monday.” Since November 2022, CJI DY Chandrachud became the head of the judiciary, he has been advocating the use of technology to speed up justice delivery and to reach quickly even the last man standing in the queue for justice. One of the SC officials, while explaining the benefits of the IT-enabled courtrooms, stated that “To cater to the diverse connectivity needs of modern technology, cable cubbies have been integrated into these courtrooms. These cubbies are equipped with HDMI outputs, USB C&A ports for charging devices, LAN connections, and power sockets. This advanced infrastructure provides convenient connectivity options, allowing for seamless integration of multimedia devices.” Therefore, from today, July 03, 2023, the Supreme Court’s courtrooms will experience an efficient digital makeover.