Posted By :  Admin1

The Uttar Pradesh Prosecution Department is devising a new system to tackle case backlogs in courts by enabling government officers, predominantly police personnel and doctors, to virtually record evidence for pending cases. Under this plan, the state government intends to establish infrastructure in districts, facilitating a centralized computerized system where officers and doctors can conveniently record evidence at the office of the Joint Director of the Prosecution Department. Additional Director of Police (Prosecution), Dipesh Juneja, elucidated that the initiative aims to address challenges posed by officers' frequent transfers across districts in Uttar Pradesh. By leveraging this centralized system, officers and doctors can mitigate the need for physical presence in district courts, streamlining proceedings, conserving manpower, and reducing associated expenses such as travel and lodging costs. Ultimately, this approach is poised to expedite trials while optimizing resource allocation.

By the start of June, the Prosecution Department aims to roll out the initiative in five key districts: Lucknow, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Noida, Barabanki, and Varanasi. Juneja expressed the intention to expand this system to additional districts subsequently, with a future vision of enabling ordinary citizens to remotely provide statements to courtrooms from these computerized offices. Presently, all investigating officers and doctors involved in any investigation must physically appear in court to record evidence, delaying trial proceedings. Atul Kumar Ojha, Joint Director (Prosecution), emphasized the necessity for this new system, citing challenges faced by retired officers unwilling to travel to different districts to record evidence and the bureaucratic hurdles in obtaining allowances. He highlighted the significant backlog of cases, some pending for nearly a decade, due to such delays. Implementing this system is expected to alleviate the financial strain on the police department and government. The plan includes appointing a coordinating officer at the Joint Director's office in each district to oversee the system's operation.