File picture of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court today turned down a plea for setting up a remote bench in Chennai that could have ruled over cases through video-conferencing and tablet computers.
The apex court was ruling over a petition that contended that many people from south India can't afford to come to the capital to file or fight their cases.
The petitioner had said that even if a physical bench of the Supreme Court could not be set up in the Tamil Nadu capital, the use of new technology services and devices could be explored.
Lawyers in a virtual courtroom in Chennai can present their cases through tablet computers like iPads while judges in New Delhi will also rule over them with similar hardware and software, the plea had said.
Turning down the petition, Chief Justice HL Dattu said, "Yes we can do it, but not now. We appreciate your progressive thinking; but not now."
Similar pleas have been rejected in the past as well, Justice Dattu said.