Gujarat became the first state in the country to implement hybrid court hearings in family courts, allowing decisions to be made from anywhere.
Now, litigants and lawyers will no longer need to travel to district headquarters or taluka clusters to file cases. They will be able to file new cases directly through an online platform and participate in hybrid online hearings from wherever they are.
The inauguration of the family courts’ hybrid platform (Remote Adjudicating Courts) took place in the presence of Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Supreme Court Justice Suryakant.
Anil Kella, Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Gujarat Bar Council, stated that the state now has a network of 73 Taluka Family Courts. Family court judges will conduct hearings on different days and dates each month, depending on the caseload, and will handle hearings in both hybrid and online formats.
This new project will also include the launch of the e-Gujarat Scanning Workflow Automation System, allowing digital case filing in Taluka Family Courts.
Kella further explained that under the hybrid system, presiding officers or judges will be able to conduct online hearings from any taluka court.
Video conferencing facilities have been made available for all taluka family courts, enabling seamless virtual hearings for lawyers and litigants.
With the objective of Remote Adjudicating Courts, the digital hybrid hearing system will significantly benefit family courts by addressing social challenges, said Kella.