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‘Not part of such circus’: Judge rebukes officials after glitches in virtual hearing
“I categorically refuse to be a part of such circus because I have taken an oath to deliver justice to the litigants, who are outside the courtrooms and beyond the reaches of the air-conditioned rooms...,” Calcutta high court judge Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya said.
KOLKATA: A Calcutta high court judge on Friday reacted sharply to technical glitches that disrupted the virtual hearing of a case, issuing notice to the project coordinator in charge of the setup to explain why the contempt of court proceedings should not be drawn up against the coordinator and high court officials on the administrative side.
Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya said the glitches had become a daily feature and “it is unfortunate that this court is unable to provide the minimum virtual services and connectivity in order to ensure that justice is rendered appropriately”.
The judge ordered the central project coordinator to send his reply by 3pm to his chamber since the court was unable to sit any longer till the connectivity issues were entirely resolved.
“It may be recorded here that this has become a regular feature and I feel ashamed that our esteemed high court, which has an illustrious history, is being relegated to such insignificance that we cannot render justice to the litigants at large due to mere connectivity issues,” Justice Bhattacharyya said in his order.
HT has reviewed a copy of the order.
“I categorically refuse to be a part of such circus because I have taken an oath to deliver justice to the litigants, who are outside the courtrooms and beyond the reaches of the air-conditioned rooms accommodating the Judges and toiling in the sun and the dust outside,” the single court said.
“I personally feel guilty, as a part of this court, since disruption and interference in the functioning of courts, in whatever form, might amount to criminal contempt. I am a party to such (an) act as a part of the showcase of Judges who are adorning this court, including the Chief Justice,” the single judge bench said in its order, underscoring that he had repeatedly flagged the problems to the project coordinator.
The judge rued that “connectivity issues and electronic interference in the audio and visual systems’’ had become a daily feature of the court. “Despite the tall talks about achievements of virtual hearing facilities and restricting hearing of litigations entirely to virtual hearings, it is unfortunate that this court is unable to provide the minimum virtual services and connectivity in order to ensure that justice is rendered appropriately,” the order said.
The Central Project Coordinator is directed to show cause in writing as to why proceedings should not be drawn up against the high court administration, including the registrar general and the central project coordinator, in particular, for criminal contempt of court due to continuous interference in virtual hearings in court in each and every matter, the order said.
“Fie on the system which cannot deliver justice to its citizens. Hence, this court is unable to sit any longer till the connectivity issues are resolved entirely. Sitting in court and playing dumb charades during virtual hearings with the advocates, due to major disruptions in virtual services, has become a joke by now and does not tantamount to adjudication of matters but is a mere circus on show before the public,” the order said.
Justice Bhattacharyya also asked that a copy of his order be communicated to the acting chief justice and the high court’s registrar general.
“I stop short of issuing a Rule of Contempt to give a last chance to the high court administration to rectify the faults in connectivity so that proper justice can be rendered to the litigants at large, particularly when we are restricting learned advocates and the litigants to appear in court in person and confining hearing merely to the virtual mode,” ordered the judge and listed the hearing, which was disrupted, for Saturday on a priority basis.
