When the first lockdown was imposed in the country on March 24 after the COVID-19 outbreak, much like any other establishment, courts too decided to shut down in the Capital.
Instantaneously, this led to a sharp fall in the institution of fresh cases. The most drastic impact was seen at the district courts here. Compared to the 44,888 cases being instituted in April last year, only 904 were instituted the same month this year.
The Delhi High Court too saw a similar drop in the institution of cases from 4,457 in April last year to just 228 in April this year.
Video call hearing
Responding to the call of social distancing to ensure that court premises do not contribute to the spread of the virus, on March 23, the Supreme Court decided to shut down all forms of physical hearing to reduce the physical presence of lawyers, litigants and court staff in court precincts and instead adopted technology-centric virtual courts. It authorised the High Courts and district courts across the country to adopt the mode of videoconferencing hearing.
The Delhi High Court and its subordinate district courts quickly adopted the videoconferencing form of hearing. However, in the initial days, only cases that involved ‘extreme urgency’ were taken up, while others were adjourned for a later date.
Disposal rate
The shutting down of conventional form of court hearing also resulted in a massive drop in the disposal rate of both civil and criminal cases after the first phase of lockdown. The district courts here have disposed of 1,46,813 cases till September this year, but the courts were able to dispose of 3,22,364 in the same period last year.
Access to justice
The Supreme Court on April 6, this year, while admitting that the outbreak of pandemic has led to scaling down of conventional operations within the precincts of courts, said: “Access to justice is fundamental to preserve the rule of law in the democracy envisaged by the Constitution of India.”
“The challenges occasioned by the pandemic outbreak have to be addressed while preserving the constitutional commitment to ensuring the delivery and access to justice,” it had observed.
Despite this, the initial period of the lockdown and the corresponding shutdown of the courts saw many accused arrested in relation to criminal cases unable to avail of legal remedies. Lawyers had then expressed worry as the detainees were unable to avail of the rights that accrue at the stage of summoning, detention, arrest and remand due to the shutdown of courts and unavailability of lawyers.
The new normal
Advocate Ajay Verma said that the lockdown definitely affected the justice delivery system. “Initially, all courts were closed due to the lockdown but in an unprecedented initiative, the Delhi High Court, which already had a very advanced e-court system , decided to start hearing urgent cases,” Mr. Verma said.
Initially, only matters that were of urgent nature such as medical illness were taken up, which, he said, later expanded to other types of cases. Mr. Verma said all district courts also started functioning virtually giving some relief to people lodged in jail. During this process, lots of lawyers faced problems due to a lack of familiarity with the new technology, Mr. Verma said. “Though the majority of Delhi’s lawyers adapted to the new system quickly, there is still a need to involve other lawyers to get them equipped with the same skills,” he added.
Lawyer and columnist Gyanant Kumar Singh said during the initial lockdown period when videoconference hearing was introduced, it took time even for the courts to adjust to it. “Now the list of cases taken up daily is longer,” he said.
On the huge slump in the institution of fresh cases post-lockdown, Mr. Singh said, “The statistic may be misleading”.
He said that this slump could be on account of a change in the mode of filing and many lawyers are not conversant with the latest technology. “Secondly and very importantly, the freezing of the limitation period,” he added.
In March, the Supreme Court had stipulated a period of limitation in all cases taking cognisance of the difficulties that may be faced by litigants across the country in filing their petitions, applications, appeal etc. Mr. Singh remarked that there might be a spurt in cases when the court reopens in full flow.
