Queency Jain
The current Chief Justice of India (CJI) has introduced a new feature on the Supreme Court’s official website which aims to provide concise summaries of landmark judgments in an easy and precise manner.
The CJI, while speaking to a media person, stated that he was “actively” considering the proposal to live telecast the proceedings of the Supreme Court but before initiating concrete steps in this regard, he would seek consensus among his colleagues in the top court.
Ramana, former journalist, said that the media faces great challenges as reporters are highly dependent on the advocates to get links to cover court proceedings and thus it was a need of an hour to create a mechanism so that press can attend the hearings.
The CJI while introducing a new feature “Indicative notes”, stated that, “It serves as a useful resource for media persons and the general public who wish to be better informed about the rulings of the Court.”
Urging the media persons to use the app responsibly and follow all Covid protocols, the CJI further said that since the app is newly developed, it may have certain flaws in the early days. Therefore, everyone was requested to be extra patient while using the same.
Furthermore, Ramana thanked the Apex Court Registry and the whole technical team for their efforts in developing the application and including the “Indicative notes” feature in a very short span of time.
The CJI also highlighted that so far, 2,768 judicial officers and 106 judges of the High Court have tested positive for COVID-19.
The first case of COVID-19 in the Supreme Court registry was reported on 7 April, 2020. To date, 800 Registry staff, 6 registrars and 10 additional registrars have tested positive for the virus at different times thereby losing 3 of their officials.
In conclusion, the CJI said, “34 Judicial Officers and three Honorable Judges of the High Court have lost their life, battling this pandemic. My heart goes out to the families and the loved ones of those whose life has been cut short by this pandemic.”