Given the increasing integration of technology into dispute resolution systems, the Supreme Court has directed district courts to digitize all records of criminal trials and civil suits. A bench of Justices Krishna Murari and Sanjay Karol noted that on September 24, 2021, the Supreme Court’s E-committee issued a SOP for digital preservation. According to the Supreme Court, a strong system of responsibility and accountability must be developed and fostered in order to ensure the proper protection and regular updating of all records, allowing the judicial process to run smoothly. At the present time, technology has become increasingly entwined with the systems of dispute resolution and adjudication, with trends pointing to even more interplay, both supplementary and complementary, between technology and law. The Registrar General of the high courts shall ensure that in all cases of criminal trial, as well as civil suits, the digitization of records is duly undertaken with promptitude at all district courts, preferably within the same day. The Supreme Court also directed the district judge in charge to ensure that the digitized records are verified as soon as the digitization system and the authentication system for the digitized records are in place. The Supreme Court issued the directive while overturning a man’s conviction in a corruption case by the Allahabad High Court. The question was whether the appellate court could have upheld the conviction and increased the fine amount in the absence of the trial court’s records. The top court noted that the alleged offence occurred 28 years ago and that, despite the efforts of the courts, the relevant trial court record could not be reconstructed.
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