Delivering the inaugural address, Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud hailed the initiatives spearheaded by Dr. S. Muralidhar and reminded that the reason why the State and the Judiciary must put in bipartisan effort in the administrative workspace is because they share the common mission of serving the common citizen.
He said e-filing 3.0 and vulnerable witness deposition centres, initiatives put a human face to technology. Highlighting the emphasis on digital inclusion and need to provide witness centric measures, Justice Chandrachud also mentioned that vulnerable witness deposition centres mark accomplishment of an important objective for the benefit of the witnesses without whose uninfluenced testimony there cannot be any rule of law. e-Filing 3.0 is the latest version of e-filing software developed by NIC under the aegis of the Supreme Court e-Committee, to make case filing in electronic mode far more convenient and effective for Advocates and litigants compared to the previous version. The initiative of opening Vulnerable Witness Deposition Centre with Virtual Courtrooms was undertaken by Orissa High Court at the behest of Dr. S. Muralidhar few months back in the Districts of Bhadrak and Malkangiri with the objective of providing conducive ambience to vulnerable witnesses for deposing their evidence before Courts. With today’s inauguration, Vulnerable Witness Deposition Centres and Virtual Courtrooms shall be available in fifteen districts of the State Justice R.C. Chavan, the Vice Chairperson of the e-Committee highlighted the necessity of adoption of technology in changing times and the role of the Courts and stakeholders in making this possible.
Justice Gita Mittal, former Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court and the Chairperson of the Committee constituted by the Supreme for Vulnerable Witness Deposition Centres attended the event through video conferencing. She spoke extensively on the necessity of digital inclusion for true success of any ICT initiative. Justice Mittal congratulated the High Court team on adoption of e-filing 3.0, opening of VWDCs and Virtual Courtrooms. Speaking on the occasion, Orissa High Court Chief Justice Dr. S. Muralidhar, acknowledged the support provided to the initiative of e-filing by Advocate General for State Government filings and the Assistant Solicitor General for Central Government filings.
