Chief Justice of India, NV Ramana on Thursday took suo moto cognizance to launch FASTER (Fast and Secured Transmission of Electronic Records) a software to transmit Court Orders swiftly and smartly. The decision was taken to make the movement of orders flow smoothly and without the intrusion of third parties.
The launch of the FASTER software happened with the online presence of CJI Ramana, Justices A.M. Khanwilkar, D.Y. Chandrachud and Hemant Gupta and Chief Justices and Judges of high courts. The software will ensure privacy and safety as the bail orders will carry the digital signatures of the Supreme Court officers.
“Orders passed by the Supreme Court and other high courts have to be transmitted safely without interference by third parties. We have nominated 73 nodal officers at the HC level and jail authorities selected through a judicial communication network. A secure pathway email id has been established,” said CJI Ramana.
He further said, “there are a total of 1,887 email ids of these nodal officers connected across the country. FASTER will communicate bail orders and for the purpose of authentication it will have digital signatures of SC officers. Communication is restricted to the email id holders which ensures confidentiality, safety and security.”
The motive behind launching FASTER is to avoid delays in the hard copies of the release of bail appellants. As CJI Ramana mentioned, the concept of FASTER was shaped after he read a news report on inmates not getting released despite the Supreme Court’s order as the certified physical copies were not delivered to the prison officials.