In view of the recent spike in Covid-19 cases, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Tuesday issued the Modalities and arrangement on the functioning of High Court during Covid-19 till April 7 to 9, 2021.
The Court issued the following modalities and arrangements, will be effective from April 7 to 9:
1. Hearing of cases shall be conducted only through video -conferencing w.e.f. April 07, 2021 till April 09, 2021.
2. The Counsel shall not be permitted to enter in the court rooms and corridors on April 7, 8 and 9.
3. The VC link messages will be sent to the Counsels in sequence as per the Cause List, accordingly, the Counsel will receive the SMS as per the sequence of his/her case. The Advocates are required to click on the link for joining Court proceedings through Video -conferencing using Google Chrome (latest version) as the browser and Safari browser on iPad/iPhone. The video -conferencing link may also be opened through Jitsi-Meet App which can be downloaded on the mobile phone.
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4. For Court Nos. 1, 16 & 21, the following web-link is available for the access of Advocate for appearing through video -conferencing.
5. Video-conferencing facility shall also be made available in the V-C Cabins situated in the Mediation Centre. Not more than two Counsel shall be allowed to remain inside the V-C cabins at a time. All the protocol related to COVID-19 (social distancing and wearing masks) shall strictly be followed inside the V-C cabins.
6. The details of specific Court Rooms and their respective Video -Conferencing cabin numbers will be mentioned outside each cabin in the Mediation Centre.
7. The System Manager/High Court staff will provide the required technical assistance to the Advocates/Litigants -in -person, as and when required at the onsite facility.
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8. While headsets are available at onsite facility i.e. the Mediation Centre for V-C hearings and the same shall also be sanitized on a regular basis, however, the Advocates are also advised to bring their own headsets considering the sanitization burden of the said equipment. The wired headsets should be with single 3.5 mm stereo jack with noise canceling mic to provide crystal-clear communication. Stereo headsets with mic used normally with mobile phones would also be compatible.
(9) The Advocates may note that Video Conferencing link shall be sent only on the mobile number registered in the AOR. Request for correction/updation of mobile number/E-Mail ID mentioned in Advocate on Roll (AOR) may be made by the Counsels through E-mail on following E-Mail address of AOR Section, High Court, Lucknow, before preparation of cause list/filing of urgency application.