Chief Justice of India NV Ramana launched ‘Fast and Secured Transmission of Electronic Records’ (FASTER), a software to transmit court orders swiftly, securely through electronic mode. The aim is to avoid situation where release of prisoners gets delayed even after SC grants them bail, solely on ground of delay in jail authorities getting certified hard copies of release order.
During the launch event, the CJI said that the concept of FASTER took shape after reading a news report regarding prisoners not being released despite the Supreme Court granting them bail three days ago as the physical copies of the orders were not delivered to the prison officials. After that, the CJI-led bench took up a suo motu case and directions were issued to develop the electronic system.
“The purpose of FASTER is, orders passed by the Supreme Court or any Courts have to be transmitted safety without any interference”, the CJI said. The online event was attended by all judge of the Supreme Court and High Courts of the country
He said 73 nodal officers have been selected at the High Court level to execute the software.
There are total 1,887 email ids of the nodal officers and other officers. FASTER will communicate bail orders and it will have digital signature of SC officers for authentication. Communication is restricted to the email id holders which ensures privacy, safety and security
CJI said “We launched this system after we came to know that a person was not released from prison even after being granted bail by SC 3 days prior because the order had not reached.”
HOW IT ALL BEGAN: “COMMUNICATION THROUGH PIGEONS”
It was on July 16, 2021, that the CJI first expressed concern that even in the era of internet and Information Technology boom, it seemed jail authorities are relying “on ancient mode of communication through pigeons”.
CJI had asked then Secretary General of the Supreme Court Sanjeev S Kalgaonkar to consult amicus curiae and senior advocate Dushyant Dave and SG Tushar Mehta for devising a secure direct electronic mode of communication from SC to jails.
”In this age of information and communication technology, we are still looking at the skies for the pigeons to communicate the orders.”, CJI said expressing concern over delay in release of prisoners even after courts grant them bail, solely on the ground of delay in order copies reaching jail, he had said
CJI had then said he will set in motion a secure electronic transmission mechanism for SC orders on bail reaching the jail authorities to help expeditious release of jail inmates who have been granted bail in a case.
WHAT IS ‘FASTER’?
Christened as FASTER (Fast and Secure Transmission of Electronic Records), the innovative scheme is conceived for delivery of orders to concerned prisons, District Courts, High Courts, as the case may be, for instantaneous delivery of orders passed by apex court through a secure communication channel.
The bench said the innovative scheme would revolutionize transmission of court orders to all concerned in a fast and secure manner.
“This will save time and effort and will ensure that there are no delays in implementation of the orders passed by the Supreme Court”, CJI Ramana had said.
The issue had come up during the hearing of the matter where Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognizance of delay on the part of Uttar Pradesh authorities in releasing 13 prisoners who were granted bail by it on July 8.
The convicts, who were juveniles at the time of offence have been lodged in Agra Central jail for periods ranging from around 14 to 22 years in a murder case.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana said “it is too much” for the jail authorities to insist on the authentic copy of the order by speed post to free those convicts whose release had been ordered by the court.
