VC facility starts at Aurangabad bench for Supreme Court and High Court hearings

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

A free video-conferencing (VC) facility centre has been launched for lawyers and litigants at the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court. The centre was inaugurated on Wednesday in the presence of Justice Manish Pitale and Justice Vibha Kankanwadi.

With this facility, lawyers no longer need to travel to Delhi, Mumbai, or other state benches for hearings in the Supreme Court or High Court. They can now attend directly via VC from Aurangabad, without paying any fees. Since its launch, the centre has been serving around 150 litigants daily, saving both time and money. Costs for travel, stay, and additional lawyer’s fees are being avoided, while lawyers can also manage multiple cases in different courts simultaneously from the bench.

Initiative by bar association

The Aurangabad High Court Bar Association has set up five soundproof VC rooms within the bench premises. Many litigants from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and across Marathwada have cases pending in Mumbai and the Supreme Court. Lawyers need to file an application a day before the hearing at the VC centre, after which a link is provided to present the case online. Similar VC facilities are also available at the Nagpur, Kolhapur, and Goa benches of the Bombay High Court. “This step spares litigants the heavy financial burden of travelling for hearings,” said bar association president Adv. Yogita Thorat Kshirsagar and secretary Adv. Shrikrishna Choudhary.