The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has devised a unique design of court functioning to contain the spread of COVID-19 and ensure that the prevention protocol are followed after reopening of courts next week.
The directions as issued by the Chief Justice Gita Mittal through circulars will be followed. The High Court judges will hear cases and conduct proceedings sitting in their chambers and video conferencing will be used by lawyers to argue cases in the court rooms. Separate conference rooms and court rooms will be earmarked for the corresponding judges chambers. Plastic sheets/ acrylic/ glass protective screens on the dais will be installed in District Courts to avoid any form of contact.
The use of air conditioners will be avoided, and fans will be installed in all thr rooms and the judges’ chambers. The windows of the judges’ chambers will be kept open even while the air conditioners are running, and the arguing desk used by lawyers will be moved away from the judges’ side.
The lower Courts will issue a causelist for the week on the last working day and will be published on the court’s website. These courts will have to ensure that no criminal cases are adjourned and cases pertaining to bail, domestic violence, cases of maintenance, custody of children, matters involving injunctions, and cases/applications fixed for final hearing will be treated as “urgent”
The written submissions will be submitted through emails, and all members of the district court Bar will provide their mobile numbers or landline phone number and emails to the office of the Principal District Judge.
The cases may be heard through video call in cases of exceptional urgency when video conferencing is not available and the concerned judicial officer will arrange mobile handsets enabled with WhatsApp for the court and notify the mobile numbers to be used for video calling on the official website of the concerned district court. All requests for video calls will have to include a photograph of both the party and the lawyer to ensure their identification. The video calls will be initiated by the Courts only and its recording will be maintained by them.
The advocates who wish to argue their cases through video conferencing from their residence will be allowed to do that and will have to ensure that the room is free from all kinds of disturbances, external noises, poor lighting, etc.
-India Legal Bureau