"Why so tech unfriendly?" CJI DY Chandrachud urges lawyers to email requests for urgent listing instead of mentioning orally

Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud on Friday suggested that instead of relying solely on traditional methods of communication, lawyers should adopt more technologically friendly approaches..After a lawyer appearing before the Supreme Court pressed for an urgent listing of a case despite it not being on the mentioning list, CJI Chandrachud pointed out he could have sent an email to the registrar to list the case. The Chief Justice also questioned why lawyers appeared reluctant to embrace technology. "Why are you all so tech-unfriendly? Send an email to the registrar listing and I will look at them and list it. Sometimes I do not have lunch but attend emails," he said.Chief Justice Chandrachud has been a long-standing proponent of taking advantage of technology to ease court processes. Last May, during a speech, he emphasised that judges have to embrace technology for the benefit of litigants and that litigants cannot be burdened because judges are uneasy with technology.At the time, the CJI also implored High Courts to continue using technology enabled hybrid hearings, pointing out that such facilities are not meant for use only during the COVID-19 pandemic."In one of my judgments which I was editing last night, I have said we cannot burden our lawyers due to our uneasiness with technology. The answer is simple: retrain ourselves," he added.During a virtual inauguration ceremony of certain initiatives at the Calcutta High Court last March, he had opined that lawyers should be allowed to use electronic devices like iPads and laptops inside courtrooms provided they are using them for constructive purposes.After Justice Chandrachud took up the office of Chief Justice of India, the registry of the apex court has also evolved into a completely paperless one.Among the slew of e-court initiatives launched during his term is the Electronic-Supreme Court Reports (e-SCR) project, by which 34,000 judgments of the top court became available online for free..100 days of CJI DY Chandrachud: 14,209 cases disposed of, Paperless Registry, RTI Portal and more