Raipur, Mar 20 (PTI) Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court P R Ramachandra Menon on Saturday inaugurated the state's first virtual court and dedicated 18 newly-built court rooms in the New Court Building, Raipur in an e-function.

Addressing the event online, he said online proceedings through virtual courts will save the time of judges, who can dedicate additional time to other court- related affairs, while it will also be convenient for litigants, a release issued by the public relations department said.

The Chief Justice was accompanied by Chhattisgarh High Court Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Manindra Mohan Shrivastava, it said.

Virtual Court Application, designed and developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC) under the guidance of e- Committee of Supreme Court of India under e-Court Mission mode project, is a concept aimed at eliminating the presence of litigant or lawyer in the court and adjudication of the case online, the statement said.

Initially, cases related to traffic offences will be addressed online in the virtual court and gradually it will be extended to others, it said, adding that traffic violators will be given the option to pay the fine online without coming to the court.

As per the new scheme, the digital challans generated through the NIC e-challan application will be sent in digital form to the court, and all the challans for the given day will reflect on the dashboard of the virtual court, and summons will be issued to traffic violators via mobile phone and email ID, it said.

The violator can pay the challan or opt to contest the case, the latter option resulting in the traffic department being intimated and the case being transferred to a physical court for hearing.

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