New Delhi, Feb 19: Virtual court hearings have increased efficiency and it is necessary to utilise this system for which a vast infrastructure has been created and even large amount of money sanctioned by the government, Supreme Court Judge Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said on Sunday.Speaking at the concluding session of the four-day long ‘Delhi Arbitration Weekend’, Justice Kaul said when the world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, the international arbitration community shifted to the virtual system and gradually virtual or hybrid hearings will become a norm and physical hearings will become an exception.“To keep the wheels of justice moving as much as possible, we introduced virtual hearing in courts and India being a developing country, faced infrastructural and connectivity issues but it did not take long for the stakeholders to find a way of operating efficiently,” he said.Justice Kaul was speaking on the topic ‘Arbitration Vision 2030: What the Future Beholds?’“I would say the virtual system has actually increased the efficiency level and hence even today, I operate on a hybrid level where I permit lawyers to appear through video conferencing,” he said.He added that virtual system has reduced cost of travelling and allows lawyers to prepare their matters in a short time.“This is something the Chief Justice of India also on recent occasions emphasised that having created this vast infrastructure it is necessary to utilise it to the best possible way considering that the government has also sanctioned a large amount for further use of technology to strengthen the judicial system,” Justice Kaul said.He said the virtual system has done away with the need of unnecessarily spending money on travelling to different parts of the world for conferences or hearings and it has also become easier for arbitrators and practitioners to find a suitable date of hearing.
