Wheels of justice: 'E-court' vans to reach remote Uttarakhand hills

The Uttarakhand high court has set up five ‘ecourt’ vans — equipped with WiFi and computers for videoconferencing — that will travel to remote areas in the hills to connect residents in far flung areas with virtual courts.

Judges will hear the cases — both civil and criminal — online while technical teams stationed in the vans will facilitate the appearance of witnesses, complainants and experts before the virtual court and also help with documentation.

The initiative is the brainchild of chief justice RS Chauhan who had last year, during the Covid-19 pandemic, introduced the first mobile virtual court connecting system in Adilabad when he was serving as the chief justice of the Telangana high court.


In Uttarakhand, the ecourt vans will roll out on Independence Day in the five hill districts of Pithoragarh, Champawat, Uttarkashi, Tehri and Chamoli. A court official involved in the initiative told TOI on Tuesday that the vehicles would provide “access to the administration of justice” in parts of the state where people have to travel long distances in tough terrain to reach the court.

“Uttarakhand has a very difficult topography and many areas lack internet and road connectivity. But now instead of people going to court, the court will approach them,” the official said, adding that the facility will also be available in other districts later.

While the detailed standard operating procedure for functioning of these mobile units is yet to be released, officials told TOI that the district judge and the court coordinator will be tasked with the responsibility of maintaining and stationing these vans in their districts. The court concerned can direct the vehicles to visit the area of residence of a witness or petitioner. People will also be able to seek deployment of the vans in their areas, the official said.