Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on Saturday said that digitisation has ensured delivery of justice, be it social, economic or political at the doorstep of people, which has in turn helped humanity.
Speaking during the inaugural session of the International Lawyers’ Conference organised by the Bar Council of India (BCI), the SG said that under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India started its journey for digitisation.
As on date, there were 760 million mobile internet users across the country, with one new user adding every three seconds, he disclosed.
The SG said that total digital payments made in India were seven times of the US and the UK put together and three times the population of China.
He said the country was gradually becoming an economic powerhouse in the world, noting that in the last decade, the Government has taken several statutory steps. India has jumped several places in the index of ease of doing business, he pointed out, adding that the country has entered an era of 100 percent FDI through automatic route.
Explaining the Government’s new policy based on digitisation called Tele Law, the SG said one just has to dial a number to get free legal advice from eminent lawyers, who had been roped in to give pro bono services. Now, no citizen would be deprived of legal rights, he added.
He recalled that when the world faced the Covid-19 pandemic, India not only developed its own indigenous vaccines, the Government of India administered 2.2 billion doses free of cost, which was more than the populations of the EU and the US put together.
The SG said the Supreme Court has also started its own initiatives under the visionary leadership of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, adding that in this e-era, the Chief Justice’s court had become completely paperless.
Talking about the Supreme Court Vidhik Anuvaad Software (SUVAS), an Artificial Intelligence-powered machine assisted translation tool, the SG said the software was nothing short of a miracle.
Also known as Anuvaad, the software translated the verdicts, orders and documents of the Apex Court in nine vernacular languages on a real time basis, he added.
Stating that Bharat was the present and the future of the world, he said the legal fraternity would have to rise to the occasion, so that the country continued to scale up the progress chart.
Speaking on the occasion, Attorney General (AG) R. Venkataramani said that colonisation of places may have become a thing of the past, but the colonisation of mind continued till date.
He said justice at the domestic level called for unending engagements, noting that it was important to designate aid in legal resolutions.
Stating that social media was a borderless world of communication, which had no regard for ethical and moral consideration, the AG stressed on having discussion over its impact on justice delivery.
Listing the efforts taken by the Government, he said improvement in the Commercial Courts Act and the successful implementation of an arbitration mechanism, besides passing of the Mediation Act has facilitated justice delivery.
Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal said that access to justice and legal aid in developing nations has remained a point of focus for the Government, adding that steps have been taken for the ease of doing business by way of Indian statutory provisions.
He pointed out that the Supreme Court heard the most number of cases during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The two-day event, based on theme ‘Emerging challenges in the justice delivery system,’ was inaugurated today by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud attended the conference as Chief Guest. Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, BCI Chairman Manan Mishra, judges from various High Courts, along with legal practitioners from different parts of the world were present on the occasion.