INTRODUCTION:
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: A Times of India story states that after being ticketed for a traffic infraction in early 2020 and paying a fine, government worker Abhimanyu was subjected to a drawn-out judicial procedure. Going to court regularly was just as challenging as the lengthy lines, paperwork, and endless wait in a crowded courtroom. But in the end, he was able to discuss his perspective on the infraction and pay a minor fine online from the comfort of his home in only a few minutes over video conference. The Delhi High Court’s digital ecosystem made it very easy to track the case’s developments.
WHAT IS THE PROCESS?
According to representatives of the High Court, the Supreme Court’s e-committee examined the virtual court system to facilitate the electronic settlement of traffic tickets and the electronic payment of fines. The court administration and Delhi Traffic Police have devised a mechanism that allows the offender to appeal the notice or pay the fee online after receiving an SMS notification of challan for a traffic violation.
After that, the offender is taken to the electronic payment channel if they choose to confess, and the case is automatically forwarded to the relevant traffic court for resolution if the challan is contested. As to the Motor Vehicles Act, the presiding officers of the Virtual Traffic Court have the authority to order
This tool, however, is entirely distinct from the Delhi Legal Services Authority’s Traffic Lok Adalat, where the offender must physically appear for the fine to be lowered or waived. The goal of online courts is to streamline the process for anyone wishing to challenge a booking or settle a fine. The District Courts website has a link to Virtual Court, which allows the infringer to appear online at vcourts.gov.in. The date and specifics of the Digital Traffic Court hearing are also sent to the infringer.
THE SYSTEM IS CONSTANTLY BEING IMPROVED
Five secretarial staff members are needed by the Virtual Traffic Court to handle the cases; at the moment, each virtual court has one judge and one staff member. Some issues persist even though digital courts are cost-effective in terms of personnel and expenses, as some sources indicate that they are frequently divided across four judicial authorities.
For instance, in virtual courts, the judge’s system frequently does not display images of the complained vehicle; these bugs are currently being fixed. Additionally, the system has been updated to allow the court to monitor the entire amount of fine that is pending before it is resolved. This allows the violator to pay the fine amount in real time using the web portal against the challan.
