The High Court and the district courts in the national capital are set to resume physical hearing from September 6 and August 31, respectively, though in a restricted manner, as the number of Covid-19 cases goes down in the NCT of Delhi.
According to High Court Registrar General Manoj Jain, while the district courts will be permitted to start physical hearing from August 31 onwards, the High Courts will resume the same from September 6.
The order said, “Physical hearings in this court will be resumed in a restricted manner with effect from September 6, 2021, provided the scale and magnitude of Covid-19 pandemic in the NCT of Delhi remains well under control. Physical hearings in the District Courts in Delhi be resumed in a restricted manner with effect from August 31, 2021.”
The order further said that the courts will allow hearing in the hybrid or video-conferencing mode, if such a request is made by any of the parties.
It added that the number of benches that would hold the court physically shall be constituted as per the directions of the Chief Justice and the remaining benches shall continue to take up the matters through video-conferencing.
The Principal District & Sessions Judges and Principal Judge, Family Court (HQs) have been directed by the High court to prepare the roster of judicial officers in such a manner that every judicial officer holds physical court once a week, while the others continue to hold courts through video-conferencing as per the existing system, said the order.
Cases listed before the high court between August 16 to September 3 have been adjourned to October. On July 22, the High Court had said that it might resume physical functioning on experimental basis from August 16.