In order to ensure timely provision of justice to the litigants and transparency in the judicial system, Lahore High Court Chief Justice Miss Alia Neelum has officially inaugurated the digitalization of courts project, reported 24NewsHD TV Channel.
LHC Chief Justice also inaugurated the Civil Courts Accounts Management System, along with which the Digital Deposits and Securities System and Inventory Management System were also launched. The implementation of these modern systems will completely digitalize judicial financial affairs and promote transparency. Under the Civil Courts Accounts Management System, the possibility of fraud in the payment of court fees, fines and other dues will be completely eliminated.
Under the digitalization initiative, the payment of court dues, fees will now be made directly through the National Bank of Pakistan while challan Form 32-A will be issued under PSID. The implementation of the automated system will eliminate all avenues of human intervention and fraud in court financial matters.
All judicial officers have been given exclusive access to the system and now all court financial payment orders will be issued online. The case management system has been linked with the National Bank of Pakistan to ensure immediate verification of deposits.
As a result, the complete record of Sheriff Petty Accounts and court fines will be available at a click. It was further informed that in the future, plans are also being made to link the Civil Courts Accounts Management System with the Accountant General's Office, which will further strengthen financial oversight.
New software has been introduced for judicial deposits and securities, which will enable modern monitoring of judicial funds and securities deposited in banks.
Under the new system, each branch of the court will be able to maintain separate records of its accounts, while the possibility of errors in the accounts will be eliminated.
The Judicial Deposits and Securities System will significantly enhance transparency in the judicial system. Similarly, the Banking and Funds Management Wing will now be able to monitor accounts more effectively through the new automated system, while records of individual branches as well as an aggregate record of all deposits will be available.
Modern inventory control software has also been introduced to monitor court stores and stocks. Under this system, all stages from receipt of goods to delivery to offices will be digital. Automatic alerts will be issued before the expiry of the goods, which will prevent the wastage of valuable government goods.
A complete record of the return of defective and damaged goods has also been made part of the system and 100% implementation of stock management SOPs will be ensured. Additional Registrar IT Lahore High Court Jamal Ahmed gave a detailed briefing to the Chief Justice on the modern systems at the inauguration ceremony held at the New Judges Library of the Lahore High Court.
The ceremony was attended by President National Bank of Pakistan Rehmat Ali Hasni, DG PIT Syed Qasim Afzal and other senior judicial and government officials. Judicial and legal circles have termed this move by Chief Justice Alia Neelam as a revolutionary step towards judicial reforms.
Reporter: Malik Ashraf