With judiciary embracing technology, time to push dispute resolution online

Experts say online dispute resolution cannot take off in India without active work from the government and the judiciary

In the light of the pandemic-induced lockdown, the Supreme Court recently announced hearings would now take place in urgent matters through video conferencing. Legal experts see this as a spark that could usher in a large-scale infusion of technology in the justice system — a silver lining to the ominous Covid-19 pandemic cloud.  

Way back in 2005, an e-Committee established by the Supreme Court for planning the implementation of information and communication technology (ICT) in the judiciary recognised an “urgent need of re-engineering” of the judicial processes and ICT enablement as “mission-critical”. However, a decade and a half later, much