Chief Justice of India NV Ramana’s revelation on Saturday during a virtual book release event that he had written to the Union Law &  IT Minister seeking urgent intervention of the Central government to take steps to resolve poor digital connectivity in rural, tribal, remote and hilly areas that is adversely impacting the pace of justice delivery has captured wide national attention. The CJI’s initiative, quite expectedly, is being hailed by the legal fraternity, especially by those who are engaged in the profession based out of rural areas. However, a wide-angle view of this ‘alert’ by the head of the top-most legal platform of the land will help in realizing that it has simultaneously touched an issue that has now an all-pervasive impact on every form of Indian life, yet, has so far not been dealt with a just level of seriousness. A robust digital connectivity can solve a whole lot of problems for people irrespective of professions and responsibilities they are hooked into and the converse means sustenance of these stumbling blocks, as experienced daily by Arunachal Pradesh and many other fully-internet-deprived or partly or poorly covered swathes of the country. The CJI’s observation has brought to the fore once more the myths and realities surrounding ‘Digital India’. The ‘realities’ the letter underlines must be adequate enough to bust the ‘myths’ and hopefully serve as a catalyst in activating the much-longed-for chain of corrective actions.

The letter is actually an acknowledgement by the CJI of the ground realities of the post-Covid justice delivery mechanism of the country. With all court proceedings now conducted compulsorily through virtual mode, for lawyers stationed outside urban areas, it’s nothing short of a nightmare. Zero or substandard internet connectivity facilities have forced them to remain outside the arena resulting in acute financial woes and in the long run slowing justice delivery, a system that is already overburdened with lakhs of backlog cases. Besides seeking financial support for lawyers, especially juniors who are struggling to survive amid the pandemic that has rendered them ‘unemployed’ for more than a year, it’s the stress on the need to plug the infra-related shortcomings that has led to this great digital divide between urban and rural/tribal/hilly India that makes the letter so deeply relevant to the context. Just like many other internet-less parts of the country, Arunachal too, in a continuance of its unending digital tribulations is now having a more bitter experience since the pandemic, with teaching-learning process in schools, among many activities being adversely hit.

A true Digital India can be the cheapest, yet highly-effective solution to integrate a geographically-expansive and socially-culturally-economically diverse India. It’s still undone however and hopefully the letter proves a game-changer.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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