Key Points

With close coordination between police, jails, and the judiciary, the state government has facilitated the production of prisoners before the court through video conferencing, making the process easy and less cumbersome.

This approach has led to significant progress in presenting a large number of prisoners from state jails before the courts through the video conferencing (VC) system, thereby saving manpower, time, and resources of the police department.

The process of producing prisoners before the courts through video conferencing got firmed up after a decision was taken in 2022 to install about 1,100 video conferencing (VC) units across the courts.

Of these, 23 software-based VC systems were allocated specifically to jails. At present, 83 video conferencing systems are operational in jails across Gujarat.

According to data from the Gujarat Prisons Department, adopting this system has shown positive results. Between January and June 2024, 40,633 prisoners (29 per cent) were produced before the courts through video conferencing by all jails under the department's jurisdiction.

This number increased to 53,672 prisoners (41 per cent) during the same period in 2025, reflecting growing usage and subsequent success of the system. The effective implementation of this system has saved manpower, time, and resources for the police department.

It has also allowed the redeployment of personnel earlier assigned to custody duties, thus improving overall departmental efficiency. This system has played a key role in accelerating the judicial process, ensuring timely justice for victims and fair punishment for criminals.

With Gujarat leading others in using video conferencing for court hearings, this reflects the state government's commitment to strengthening the judiciary system through the use of technology.

- IANS