Court Video-Conference Room Opens In Odisha’s Berhampur SP Office

Berhampur: With non-examination of complainants or witnesses delaying the investigation process, a ‘Court Video Conference Room’ was opened to provide the facility in the office of Berhampur SP in Odisha’s Ganjam district on Thursday.

DIG Southern Range Sarthak Sarangi inaugurated at the office in presence of Berhampur SP Saravana Vivek M and other officers of Berhampur Police.

The new VC room can facilitate the officers to give evidence before any court within the state. Official witnesses including serving police officers, retired police officers, doctors, scientific officers and others can give evidence sitting in this room, police sources said.

The officers many times face difficulties in giving evidence of the cases pending in courts of other districts due to their other engagements. This in turn affects the court proceedings. The VC system would ensure timely evidence deposition by official witnesses and save time and energy of the government officers and also precious time of the court, they added.

The project, mooted by the Orissa High Court in 2019, aimed at reducing pendency in lower courts by the appropriate use of technology, helping the accused put on trial with a judge, witnesses and the lawyer on a single screen through a secure and dedicated network.

The video-conferencing facilities are currently available in many subordinate courts in the state, the sources said. The video-conferencing system involves setting up an internet protocol-based video conferencing system across the courts and jails. This has proved to be a time-consuming affair as the proceedings of one court are required to wait till completion of proceedings of another, they added.