'Video Arguments' presented before Court of Law for first time in India on
10.10.07, presented before All India Conference on 04.05.08 and first assignment
completed on 18.09.08
(1)
We are pleased to
announce that on 10th October 2007, proposed 'Video Arguments' was presented
for the first time in the country by Mr. Ram Kishan in District Court, Indore. Thus a history has been made in the Judicial Management in
our country.
Many retired Judges and Senior Advocates have appreciated this development
and have desired earliest possible introduction in Indian Court Rooms.
(2) All the aspects of the said
'Video Arguments' were presented in 'All India DRT Conference'
held on 4th May '08 The said details are available in DVD No D-013
pertaining to the said conference.
(3)
We have now prepared and delivered on 18.09.08 first commercial assignment
of the said 'Video Arguments' to one of our Mumbai based
client. The following article on 'Video Arguments' gives the
detail of this important method of Arguments.
Video Arguments
(Proposed
Method - First Time in India & Presented Before
District Court, Indore on 10th Oct. ’07)
A
practical method to improve Justice Delivery System and
to
reduce time, cost and pendency in Indian Courts
-
Ram Kishan*
M –
9302103689
Synopsis
There is heavy pendency of cases in Indian Courts. Despite huge scarcity of
judges, still better results can be achieved by employing modern technology by
the Advocates and Judges. The Author of this article has developed a most
practical method for Presentation and Video Arguments which will result in
distinct improvement in quality, cost, time and pendency in the existing Justice
Delivery System. This article highlights all the aspects of the said method. In
nutshell, for the most important activity of arguments, it is proposed to employ
pre-recorded Video Presentation by the arguing Advocate on his laptop computer connected
with a monitor placed before the Judge. The
said video is termed as Video Arguments and is submitted in form of a CD as a
document in lieu or in addition to the Written Arguments. This will result in a
great facility to the Judges as the entire Presentation and the Argument can be
most accurately recalled and replayed at any time before or at the time of
writing of the judgment and can be played backward, forward and paused at will.
The judgments will be most accurate calling for lesser appeals, revisions or
reviews as the case may be. The time and cost will also reduce. As a whole the pendency will come down drastically and that too with greater satisfaction to
the litigants. .
Present
Method of Arguments
(1)
At present the Advocates tender their Oral Arguments before the
judges. For these arguments, their preparations are based on the documents, copy
of citations, books containing the citations, knowledge and experience of the
Advocates. Some of the Advocates prepare their arguments by keeping a note of
points in brief, which they elaborate during the arguments.
(2)
The judge listens to these arguments and wherever needed, he
makes a note in writing. The information orally delivered by the advocates is
stored in the mind of the judge. He recalls the said information whenever he
dictates or writes the judgment or order on the said arguments. Some of the
Advocates after completion of the oral arguments, may submit written arguments
which may be quite helpful to the Judge.
(3)
Many arguments may be quite lengthy. Some may involve complex
matters of the present society. In such cases, humanly it may not be possible
for the judge to remember and recall complete arguments accurately. Sometimes
due to time gap, the recall may not be accurate. The retention is between 30% to
70%. All these may have effect on
the quality of the judgments. Thus the justice delivery system may suffer. Some
of the litigants may be compelled to resort to review, revision and or appeal as
the case may be, for no fault of theirs. As a result, the higher courts will be
burdened. Under such facts and circumstances, the litigation may involve
avoidable time, costs, delays and pendency.
(4)
Sometimes after completion of the arguments and before writing of
the judgments, the judge may be transferred. Then the whole process of
arguments may be required to be repeated, thus involving additional time and
costs for the litigants for which he is not responsible.
(5)
Sometimes, the Judge or the Advocates may not have sufficient
time to listen to or present complete arguments and as a result the Justice
Delivery System suffers for no fault of the litigants.
Proposed
Method of Arguments
(6)
The Advocate will prepare his arguments on modern
system
of
presentation like PowerPoint Presentation in which various points of arguments
will be contained in slides with narration. These points will have links to extracts from legal
books, citations and documents which will also be displayed on screen when
needed. All the slides will be in form of a video with elapsed time shown by a
digital clock which serves as reference for the index. This is termed as 'Video
Arguments' and is legally permissible under ' The Information Technology Act,
2000', 'The Indian Evidence Act, 1872' and 'The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908'
The said 'Video Arguments' is transformed to a CD with a label giving the
details of the complete case. The said CD as a document is just like a 'Written
Arguments' A CD costing Rs. 8 can contain information of nearly 1 lac
pages and occupies very small space.
Thus the proposed data storage is not only considerably cheaper
than the present system but so easy to carry and store in court records.
(7)
The arguing Advocate will carry the said CDs and his laptop to the Court Room. He will
also have a monitor (for the Judge) which may be connected to his laptop. He
will play the CD, may pause and explain if needed.
In actual case, two copes of the said CD will be given to the Court, one for the
Court and another for the opposite party. If the Judge does not have time to
view and listen to whole arguments, he may view the CD at the time of writing
the judgment. The biggest advantage is 100% record and 100% recall of the
arguments with facility of pause, forward, backward and replay whenever required
during writing of the judgment.
(8)
The judge will now have the facility of playing the said CD
backward, forward, pause etc. and the entire argument will be available to him
in most accurate form capable of being recalled fully at any time before writing
of the judgment. The Judge need not remember or take down complex matters and
can replay whenever he desires. Thus the recall of entire argument will be most
accurate and precise which is not at all possible in the existing system.
Therefore the judgment writing will be easier and perfect. On account of
accurate judgments, there will be lesser reviews, revisions and appeals and thus
pendency will come down. The complications due to part heard arguments spread
over time, transfer of the judge before completion of the arguments and in the
event of long gap between hearing of the arguments and writing of the judgments.
(9)
We have demonstrated the proposed system to several retired
judges and senior advocates who all have appreciated the same and desired that
it should be implemented as early as possible.
(10) We have prepared a demonstration CD which is
available for viewing by Judges,
Advocates and Litigants who may ring us at M – 9302103689 or e-mail at our Id
ramkishan@drtsolutions.com
or ramkishandrt@gmail.com
Presented Before an Indian Court for the first time in the country
on 10th October '07
(11) The
proposed system has been presented
before
District Court, Indore on 10th October 2007 when the said
presentation was highly appreciated.
Presented Before an
All India Conference on 4th May '08
(12) The
proposed system was explained and presented
before
the All India DRT Conference on 4th May '08 where borrowers, their advocates,
chartered accounts etc. coming from all over the country were presented. They
all appreciated the said 'Video Arguments' The complete video record of the said
presentation in the conference is available in DVD No D-013.
First
assignment of 'Video Arguments' completed and delivered on 18.09.08 to one of
our Mumbai clients
(13) The
first commercial assignment of the 'Video Arguments' has been completed and
handed over on 18.09.08 to one of our Mumbai clients.
Legal
Validation
(14)
As per procedural law contained in CPC, written arguments are
permissible after the arguments.
(15)
The proposed Video Arguments are akin to written arguments and
are permissible under the law being in accordance with Sec. 4 of ‘The
Information Technology Act, 2000 reproduced below:-
“
4. Legal recognition of electronic records :- Where any
law provides that information on any other matter shall be in writing or in the
typewritten or printed form, then, notwithstanding anything contained in such
law , such requirement shall be deemed to have been satisfied if such
information or matter is -
1
(a)
rendered or made available in an electronic
form: and
(b)
accessible so as to be usable for a
subsequent reference.
COMMENTS
If any information or matter is rendered or made available in an
electronic form, and accessible so as to be usable for a subsequent reference,
shall be deemed to have satisfied the requirement of the law which provides that
information or any other matter shall be in writing or in the typewritten form.”
Conclusion
(16)
The above proposed method is
already in use in developed countries past several years. India has achieved a
leadership role in Information Technology. Time has come to use the said
technology in Indian Court Rooms. The Supreme Court of India and the High Courts
have already started moving in this direction. The Judges in the District Courts
have been provided with laptops on 9th July ’07. We have been working
on the above mentioned method past several months and are now ready after close
examination, appreciation and recommendation by several Judges and Senior
Advocates.
(17)
Recognition and spread by the
reader of this article will expedite the
implementation in Indian Court Rooms
resulting into distinct improvement in quality of justice delivery system,
reduction in cost and time with facility to Judges and Advocates, which
invariably happens by use of better technology. We shall be glad to have a
feedback at M – 9302103689 or or e-mail IDs mentioned above.
(18)
We request
the litigants to involve
themselves
with proceedings on all dates, get the CD from us in advance, show the same to
his advocates so that if any change is to done by us. Finally prepare 7 days in advance with their advocates so
that the he is fully prepared with the arguments based on our CD.
*
Mr. Ram Kishan, BE (Hons), Telecom
Engg., 66 years, is an
Indore based Consultant having rich experience in
Management, Industries and Law. He can be contacted at his mobile no. M –
9302103689 or e-mail IDs given at the top of this web site.
A video demo CD is available to illustrate all
the aspects of the proposed method. The said CD may be obtained by specific
request through phone or e-mail.
Citations
As per Art. 141 of the
Constitution of India, the law laid down by the Supreme Court of India is
binding on all Courts in India. We are motivated and encouraged by the following
citations which may be used in reviewing all orders and judgments which, if
necessary, may be corrected before the case moves further. This way higher
courts will not be unnecessarily burdened with defective proceedings from the
Courts below:-
(21)
1993 Supp (4) Supreme
Court Cases 595 S.
Nagraj vs State of
Karnataka
The Supreme Court
in this famous judgment on the matter of review has pronounced in para 18 vide
extract:-
Para 18
“Justice is a virtue which transcends all
barriers. Neither the rules of procedure nor technicalities of law can stand in
its way… Even the law bends before justice….If the Court finds that the order
was passed under a mistake and it would not have exercised the jurisdiction but
for the erroneous assumption which in fact did not exist and its perpetration
shall result in miscarriage of justice then it can not on any principle be
precluded from rectifying the error. Mistake is accepted as valid reason to
recall an order… But the root from which the power flows is the anxiety to avoid
injustice …. If the Court is satisfied of the injustice then it is its
constitutional and legal obligation to set it right by recalling its order… .
Para 19
Review literally and even judicially means
reexamination or re-consideration. Basic philosophy inherent in it is the
universal acceptance of human fallibility. Rectification of an order thus stems from
the fundamental principle that justice is above all It is exercised to remove
the error…”
(22)
AIR 1969 SC 1167
Swaran Lata Ghosh vs H.K. Banerjee
& Anr The
Supreme Court in this famous judgment on the process of conducting trials has
pronounced vide extracts:-
Page 1169
- Trial of a civil dispute in
Court is intended to achieve, according to law and the procedure of the Court,
a judicial determination between the contesting parties of the matter in
controversy. Opportunity to the parties interested in the dispute to
present their respective cases on questions of law as well as fact,
ascertainment of facts by means of evidence tendered by the parties, and
adjudication by a reasoned judgment of the dispute upon a finding on the facts
in controversy and application of the law to the facts found, are essential
attributes of a judicial trial. In a judicial trial the Judge not only must
reach a conclusion which he regards as just, but, unless otherwise
permitted, by the practice of the Court or by law, he must record the ultimate
mental process leading from the dispute to its solution. A judicial
determination of a disputed claim where substantial questions of law or
fact arise is satisfactorily reached, only if it be supported by the most
cogent reasons that suggest themselves to the Judge : a mere order
deciding the matter in dispute not supported by reasons is no judgment at all.
Recording of reasons in support of a decision of a disputed claim serves
more purposes than one. It is intended to ensure that the decision is not
the result of whim or fancy, but of a judicial approach to the matter in
contest :it is also intended to ensure adjudication of the matter according to
law and the procedure established by law. A party to the dispute is ordinarily
entitled to know the grounds on which the Court has decided against him, and
more so, when the judgment is subject to appeal. The Appellate Court, will then
have adequate material on which it may determine whether the facts are
properly ascertained, the law has been correctly applied and the resultant
decision is just.
Page 1170
- according to the
procedure prescribed for investigation of the dispute, and the rules of
evidence. The conclusion of the Court ought normally to be supported
by reasons duly recorded. This requirement transcends all technical rules
of procedure.
*
Mr. Ram Kishan, BE (Hons), Telecom
Engg., 66 years, is an
Indore based Consultant having rich experience in
Management, Industries and Law. He can be contacted at his mobile no. M –
9302103689 or e-mail IDs given at the top of this web site.
A video demo CD is available to illustrate all
the aspects of the proposed method. The said CD may be obtained by specific
request through phone or e-mail.
Application of IT in Judicial Management
Information Technology is a tool, not an end unto itself. Information
Technology clearly can improve justice system and court performance through
instant, integrated, and linked information.
Correct judicial decisions require timely, complete, and accurate information.
When Information Technology delivers on its promise, the right people are more
likely than not able to get the information they need, at the right time, and in
the right format. Because of its potential both to improve and to entangle the
judiciary, court leaders must take responsibility for the use of technology in
their courts. Direction, policy decisions, and management oversight of
Information Technology cannot be left solely to technical staff. Court leaders
must ensure that technology serves the courts purposes and that it is managed
effectively.
Much is at stake. With a click of their mouse, users can move with ease through
data and information that formerly was dispersed in fragmented and often poorly
designed electronic systems, libraries, and paper records. This improves
justice, increases efficiency, and empowers end users and increases their
morale. But new technology alone will not improve inefficient work processes.
The new electronic system must be well designed. The information delivered to
end users must be accurate. The end users must know both what they are trying
to do and how to do it. When Information Technology is applied skillfully,
communication and decisions, both judicial and managerial, can be improved.
Through technology, judges can bring together relevant case histories and
documents, communicate with attorneys and social service staff, whether internal
or external to the court, and take and maintain control of their calendars.
Cases and information about them can be accessed any time, from the bench, in
chambers, in administrative offices, on the road, and at home.
Information Technology can enable improved case management through
court-prompted and supervised timely lawyer exchange of reliable information.
As a result, the same or better justice is achieved, sooner for many cases.
Judicial attention then can be focused on the remaining cases as they are
managed to closure later in the judicial process. Good Information Technology
supports case management, service delivery, and management reports in any size
court. It is essential in large jurisdictions.
A century ago, when society was less mobile, when most business was conducted
locally, when judges could remember all of their cases, and when everyone knew
their neighbors, paper files supplemented later by crude computerization were
adequate. Even today, paper remains the medium of choice for many courts and
court users. Today, however, more and more people routinely communicate
electronically. Today, records of civil judgments and satisfactions are used
nationally and internationally. Today, police officers and prosecutors,
pretrial and probation staff, and judges on the opposite coast need to know
“right now” about criminal histories and the existence and status of warrants
and protection orders. No matter what their size, advanced electronic systems
can help courts organize and manage the documents that are filed and the
hearings that are held each day.
Judges who know about a defendant’s prior convictions and other matters pending
and disposed in their own and other jurisdictions can make better bail decisions
and impose more appropriate sentences. Drug courts and others closely
monitoring defendants and probationers can learn instantly about re-arrests
through “subscription/notification” functions. Technology aids the court in
recording legal status and in making judicial decisions and their consequences
more reliable and transparent in traffic, criminal, civil, and domestic
relations cases.
With accurate real-time financial reports, courts also are better able to meet
their fiduciary responsibilities. Information Technology enables better use of
court resources, including judges, staff, equipment, and courtrooms. The system
can be more accountable. But these and other equally significant benefits are
not guaranteed. Skill is needed in the design of Information Technology and its
day-to-day management, maintenance, and upgrade.
System design; expectations of efficient and instant service; significant
changes in people’s mobility and the social, political, and economic
environment; and caseload volume and complexity challenge all courts. As courts
deploy technology to meet these challenges, other issues arise:
·
Technology changes rapidly while technology design and implementation can take
time. Resulting applications can be dated almost as soon as they are
implemented.
·
Technology often is overlaid incrementally on complex and archaic procedures and
processes.
·
It is
difficult and sometimes impractical to mirror the full complexity of justice
system and court processes in information systems.
·
Although
the same rules and procedures may govern courts within a state, the size of the
court, the nature of the facility and local legal culture, among other factors,
drive differences in specialization and the division of labor among staff.
One-size-fits-all solutions do not work.
·
Many key
components of information management systems, people, processes, data, and
facilities are already in place. New hardware and software often are introduced
without adequate attention to how they fit within this existing environment.
Almost always, re-engineering of justice system and court business processes and
training are needed.
Managing technology requires some degree of technical competence. A court
leader must be comfortable with and have some proficiency with Information
Technology, because it is impossible to manage that which one does not
adequately understand.
Court leaders need to keep pace with technologies such as: digital audio and
video recording, video teleconferencing, voice recognition, the Internet,
laptops, imaging, electronic mail and calendars, electronic evidence
presentation, and high-tech security in the courtroom enables open, smooth, and
timely information flow. Technology can improve the speed, consistency, and
fairness of decisions. Improvement in a court’s management can be dramatic.
Court leaders who effectively manage Information Technology know both the
limitations and the challenges it presents. They also know that if its promise
is realized, Information Technology can improve justice and court efficiency and
increase public trust and confidence.
