Which are the model courts in the country? Supreme Court's Justice AS Oka reveals

The Supreme Court's Justice Abhay S Oka on Monday said that three courts in the country were, according to him, model courts and one amongst them made the best use of technology. .Justice Oka pointed out that a taluka level court in Hubli made the best use of technology for managing the building. “It is one of the most modern courts, government has spent a lot of money on that court. A computer is kept in the basement of that court, and one operator sits there. From the computer, he operates the AC system, he regulates elevators, fans, lights, water pump, water level, everything. A building management software is being used there. This is one area where we can use technology. Instead of putting so many staff members of administration, we can use technology,” Justice Oka said. .The other two courts, he said, were not famous for their technology, but were nevertheless model courts, in his opinion.“One court is in Saket in New Delhi. One more court is a family court in Pune. It is one of the best family courts in India. Credit must be given to the guardian judge, Justice Revati Mohite Dere. She spent two or three years every weekend in Pune and ensured that the court was constructed,” he said..The judge was speaking as Chief Guest at a lecture on The Role of Technology in Courts held at the Bombay High Court. He emphasized that use of technology will bring ease in functioning of courts and make courts more accessible.“Of course it is a dream, that there won’t physical files, every case will be filed through e-courts, judges will use only soft copies, they will sit with monitors,” he said. As Chairman of the Bombay High Court Computer Committee, he had undertaken a study that found that a file of an adjourned case went through twelve hands and seven tables. “When a case moves from one hand to another, you know what all can happen. I am not saying it is deliberate, but the case may not move, it may not get listed. So huge manpower you are wasting in managing the physical files. And therefore, the use of technology will bring ease in functioning of courts,” he said. .He suggested that a software could be used for auto-listing of cases, like the system used in the Kerala High Court, Delhi High Court, etc.“Technology can be used to stop all kinds of manual intervention. If we want to bring transparency to our courts, we must use technology. We must ensure that first date is auto date. There should be no choice to the members of the registry,” he suggested. He reiterated that access to justice was bound to improve with use technology in a proper way, which would also enable use of optimum space n courts. Having said so, he concluded that the use of modern gadgets and technology by itself was not sufficient to improve the quality of justice. ”You have to do something else. Your use of technology is not going to improve quality of justice. For improving justice, ultimately human element comes in. And that we have to remember. Technology has its advantages, but ultimately, the members of legal fraternity will have to improve quality of justice rendered in courts,” the judge said.