New Delhi, Apr 11 (PTI) The coronavirus pandemic has brought about an environment-friendly and paperless adjudicatory mechanism that has added to the convenience of the citizens, a top law ministry official has said.

Addressing a virtual event on Friday to launch a new website for judgments and e-filing, Secretary (Justice) in the Ministry of Law Barun Mitra said the pandemic also helped break a "perception barrier" that used to come in the way of court digitisation.

During the pandemic and the lockdown, the courts could not operate in congregation, but thanks to the information and communication technology tools, their functioning did not come "anywhere near a grinding halt", he said.

Mitra pointed out that over 86 lakh case hearings were held through video-conferencing.

"The consistent growth in the number of virtual courts during the pandemic has brought about an environment-friendly, paperless adjudicatory mechanism that has added to the convenience of the citizens, besides improving court productivity," he said in his address.

The official also pointed out that the "e sewa kendras" have been mitigating the access divide among lawyers and litigants.

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