The Chief Justice of India (CJI), K G Balakrishnan, said on Sunday that the undertrials should be kept separately from convicts.

The CJI expressed his views while speaking at the inaugural function of the country’s first model e-Court at the Ahmedabad City Civil and Sessions Court.

Nearly 40 per cent of the undertrials are innocent people, according to the conviction rate in the country, which is why they should be confined in a separate jail, he said.

The e-Court is part of a pilot project that aims to save a lot of government resources and human hours. Prisoners in the Sabarmati Central Jail will no longer need to be physically produced before the court. After reviewing performance of the e-Court, the authorities may replicate it in other parts of the country as well.

The CJI further said that to decrease the pendency of cases in courts, use of such modern methods is very essential and that the Indian judiciary is planning to adopt such techniques.

“A case should be disposed of in two years and its final appeal application should be disposed of in four years,” he said.

He added that with increased litigation in various parts of the country, the judicial authorities are also planning to establish around 4,000 new courts in rural areas.

Elaborating on it, the CJI said that in Kerala, there is 30 per cent increase in litigation, while the Supreme Court has seen a 23 per cent increase.

The CJI urged the state government to establish courts in rural areas as demanded by the Gujarat High Court.

“It is good that people are coming to the courts to redress their problems. But we should have more courts and more settlements,” he added.

According to him, there is an emphasis on mediation to dispose of the cases in courts. In Delhi, a significant number of cases have been disposed of through mediation.

The function was marked by the presence of the Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court, K S Radhakrishnan, and other judges of the high court and subordinate courts. Minister of State for Law and Justice Amit Shah and senior officials of Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and the police also attended the event.

During the inaugural function, all present were shown the working model of the e-Court, from the City Sessions Court, Sabarmati Central Jail, FSL, Ahmedabad Police Commissioner Office and Kutch District Collector Office.