Hyderabad: If justice delayed was justice denied, then perhaps technology will finally come to the rescue. In the ongoing thrust on e-governance in Andhra Pradesh, the judiciary would now able to interact with the undertrails-who are till now languishing in the jails for want of escort service-through videoconferencing.As part of this exercise, a live demonstration was held between City Criminal Courts and Chanchalguda jail on Monday,wherein the connectivity is been established between the jail and the court using ISDN lines.
On both the sides a television set and digital camera are installed, said the sources. Facilitating the technology is Hyderabad-based Stan Power Technologies.
Each installation would require an investment of Rs 1.5 lakh, said the sources. Once the facility is found successful at Chanchalguda jail, it is proposed to extend the same facility to other jails in the state. If acceptable as per the law, immediately there are about 1,650 under trails at Chanchalguda jail who will benefit from this process.
During July this year, the state government had proposed the idea of amending the section 167 (2) of CrPC to conduct trials using videoconferencing. Seeking the Union Government's approval the AP government had sent its recommendation saying that this method would improve the working of the judiciary and reduce the time and financial burden on the Exchequer.
Further, the state government has already been engaged in the process of implementing the total computerization of crime records.
Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.