Traffic Challan: The Virtual Traffic Court requires five secretarial staff to deal with the cases, currently only one judge is working with one staff in each virtual court.
Virtual Traffic Court in Delhi: According to a report in Times of India, Abhimanyu, a government employee, had to go through a lengthy legal process after he was booked for traffic violation in early 2020 and paid a fine. Repeatedly visiting the court was as difficult as the long queues, paperwork and indefinite wait in a packed courtroom. However, in the end, it only took a few minutes of video conferencing for him to explain his position on the violation and pay a small fine online from the comfort of his home. A digital ecology created by the Delhi High Court was of great help in following the proceedings of his case.
More cases are being resolved
It is a concept which aims to eliminate the presence of litigants or lawyers in the court and settle cases online. These courts are for those who want to pay fines, contest traffic police notices or seek compromise, these courts help in faster disposal of cases with less resources but better time. From April 2019 to mid-November this year, the 11 courts set up in Delhi to deal with virtual traffic challans have disposed of more than 2.1 crore petitions.
What is the process
High Court officials said that the virtual court system was considered by the e-committee of the Supreme Court to enable paperless settlement of traffic bookings and e-payment of fines imposed. The court administration, in collaboration with Delhi Traffic Police, has developed a module that sends an SMS notice of challan for a traffic offense to the offender, after which he has the option to pay the fine online or contest the notice. Thereafter, if the violator chooses to confess, the person is redirected to the e-payment gateway and if the challan is contested, the case is automatically sent to the concerned traffic court for disposal. In the Virtual Traffic Court, according to the Motor Vehicles Act, instructions are given by the presiding officers to impose or waive the fine. After this, violators can pay the fine online without coming to the court.
However, this facility is completely different from the Traffic Lok Adalat conducted by Delhi Legal Services Authority, where the fine amount can be reduced or waived, but for this the violator will have to be physically present. Online courts aim to make proceedings easier for those who want to contest a booking or pay a fine. A link for Virtual Court is available on the website of the District Courts so that the violator can appear online at www.vcourts.gov.in. The violator is also informed about the date and details of the hearing of the Digital Traffic Court.
