Biometric attendance system coming in Delhi courts

A biometric attendance system will soon be introduced in the five district courts of the capital in order to maintain discipline among the court staff and improve work culture.

A biometric attendance system will soon be introduced in the five district courts of the capital in order to maintain discipline among the court staff and improve work culture.

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"It was noticed that some of the employees come very late to the courts and leave whenever they wish to... but with the biometric attendance system, things will change and employees will have to follow the timings or otherwise they will be marked as late," said an official from the court administration.

At present, all court employees mark their attendance on a piece of paper which is circulated to all the staff and this finally goes to the District Judge, who sends it to the administration department. However, in this system, no record of those coming late, or leaving early can be maintained.

In a biometric attendance system, one's finger or card has to be placed on the 'reader' to register presence and the time the employee comes to and goes out of the office is recorded. Such a system is already prevalent in various government departments including the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

"Introduction of this biometric attendance system is part of the modernisation of courts and, if implemented, it will be a boon to the entire judicial system which is facing a huge backlog of cases," said the official.

Some employees have welcomed the introduction of this system.

"I am happy if such system will be introduced as our hard work will not go unnoticed. Sometimes to clear our backlog, we have to sit two to three hours after the court but that is of no use as nobody maintains any such record and we are deprived of overtime," a court employee said.

The system will also bring more transparency as some staff members mark proxy attendance of their colleagues, the employee added.