Computers replaced bulky files in the Supreme Court on day one of a pilot project to make five courtrooms of the apex court paperless. Although it was a new experience for the top five judges of the apex court to access case files with a simple touch on an interactive display device placed before them, some of the judges encountered severe hassles and reverted to the old method of reading from the paper books.
Being the reopening day, the Court had a rush of lawyers and visitors teeming the corridors and courtrooms. The fresh cases listed for the day had been digitized in advance and shown on the screen placed on the desk of the judge. As the screen was sensitive to touch, some judges experienced difficulty and were seen frequently calling the technical staff present in the courtroom for help.
In the CJI's court, the server went down for a while but was soon restored ending the brief interruption. The bench kept the files of the said cases ready with it for reference and would refer to the same as well. Commenting on the positive aspect of going paperless, CJI JS Khehar said, "It is so simple and convenient as there are no piles of files kept on our tables anymore." When a lawyer commented that the technology was complicated and will require some time for the Court to adapt, the CJI quipped, "It is actually good for you. Now that we do not see the files kept our side, we are not in a hurry to decide your cases."
But similar was not the reaction of other judges who had to use the smart technology to access case files. Although the petitions and documents filed by parties was scanned and produced in PDF format on the screens, some judges lost patience negotiating the sensibilities of the touch-screen and ended up pushing them to the side and relying on the paperbooks supplied to them in each case.
Apart from the first five courtrooms, confusion prevailed in other courtrooms as well. This had nothing to do with paperless drive but was purely on account of courtrooms being shifted to new positions within the Supreme Court building.
For the first time, four courtrooms were shifted to the second floor of the building which till date housed all 14 courtrooms on one single floor. lawyers were seen complaining as the passage leading to these four courts had a narrow stairway and had no facility of a lift, causing discomfort to aged senior lawyers. The Supreme Court Registry had set up help desks for the aid of lawyers. The Registry informed that in the coming days, the situation will be assessed and problems fixed.