ACCESS TO JUSTICE DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC: ROLE OF TECHNOLOGICAL INTERVENTIONS

Abstract

COVID-19, one of the worst crisis in the human history, has affected not only the soci-economic and political set up globally. It has also created a vacuum in the justice delivery system across the world. Given that norms of social distancing and lockdowns have adversely affected the quest for justice, especially in the countries like India, the huge pendency of cases has added fuel to fire. In this regard, the role of the honorable high courts and the Supreme Court cannot be ignored, inasmuch as they came out with detailed guidelines for promoting access to justice during pandemic. One of the peculiar features of the working of courts during the pandemic has been the emphasis on technological interventions, such as video-conferencing, e-Lok Adalats, etc., by the courts and other authorities. In this paper, the authors seek to study and elaborate the role of technological interventions in promoting access to justice during COVID-19 pandemic.