Prisoners to be tried via video conferencing

The judges in the city civil and sessions courts can now try the undertrials in Sabarmati jail through video conferencing, using the electronic video linkage system (EVLS) that has been set up by the government on Thursday.

Set up at a cost of Rs 28 lakh, the EVLS will facilitate quicker judicial proceedings, as magistrates will be able to cross-question the undertrials and inmates even while they are present in jail.

The system will ensure speedy settling of court cases.

Besides saving time in transporting the inmates to courts, the government can also reduce the expenditures involved.

Apart from Ahmedabad, the service will be made available in Vadodara and six other cities of Gujarat, state government officials said.

"The High Court computers system is upgraded. The district courts and the sessions courts will be given facilities of computers to have a link with the High Court," said Justice Bhawani Singh, chief justice of the Gujarat High Court.

The inmates also stand to benefit from the system as they are not watched by people every time they are brought to the court for a case hearing, the chief justice said.

Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh is the only other centre where such a system exists.

The live video conference was played at the Town Hall.

"The EVLS technology will ensure that work will is done quicker, easily and with more convenience," the chief minister Narendra Modi said.

Legal department secretary Bela Trivedi said the ELVS is an outcome of joint efforts of the information technology and legal departments of the state.

A capital investment of 18 lakh is made for television receiving equipment and Rs 10 lakh is used for building up the studio in the court and the jail," Rajesh Kishore, secretary of science and technology, government of Gujarat, said.

"EVLS technology is economical and can work in remote areas. The current annual cost for the transportation, police force and others is Rs 2.60 crore. By using this technology, Rs two crore has been saved," H R Gehlot, additional DGP and IG, prisons, said.

He said the police personnel who are engaged in prison duties can be used for some other work after the new system is set up.

There are total 23 jails and 10,500 prisoners in Gujarat.

"The government will use this technology in all the jails," Gehlot said.