Mohammad Nahian
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has said that the government would digitalise every court across the country and hold trials through video conferencing to curb the spread of Covid-19.
The minister made the statement while placing his Tk 6,03,681 crore proposed budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year, before the parliament on Thursday.
“To bring greater dynamism in the judicial process, steps have been taken to digitalise the overall justice system in the country through the development of necessary infrastructure related to information technology. To that end, the country's overall justice system will be digitised under the e-Judiciary project,” the minister said.
In May 2020, the Supreme Court issued practice directions to conduct virtual court proceedings in the Appellate Division, High Court Division, and the subordinate courts and tribunals amid the ongoing pandemic.
“All the activities of the Supreme Court and the lower courts will be brought under automation and network. Information on the current status of the cases pending in the lower courts, the date of hearing, and the full verdict will be published on the website regularly. If these initiatives are implemented, the litigants would soon be able to enjoy the benefits,” he added.
Last year, the Supreme Court suspended the operation of all courts as part of the government efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus across the country.
Later in May 2020, President Abdul Hamid promulgated an ordinance allowing all courts to conduct their trial proceedings virtually.
According to the Supreme Court administration, a total of 53,952 people secured bail and 825 juveniles were granted bail through virtual courts and tribunals in the last 33 working days till May 3.
