Srinagar, Feb 9: With the decline in COVID-19 cases, the J&K and Ladakh High Court on Wednesday ordered resumption of the physical hearings from February 14.
Reviving the January 30 order, an order issued by Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal as per news agency GNS permitted hearings through physical mode with the restriction that in no court room more than 10 advocates remain present at a time.
The District and Subordinate Courts and Tribunals in UTs of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh have been asked to start functioning through physical mode.
Besides, entry of advocates into the court rooms before District and Subordinate Courts and Tribunals shall be restricted to 5 advocates only at a given time, the order said.
The guidelines and protocols for prevention of Covid-19 contagion including wearing of masks, frequent use of hand sanitizer and maintaining safe distancing norms are mandatory for all the entrants into the Court premises, the order reads with only those advocates whose cases are listed in the Courts and who are fully vaccinated to be allowed entry in the Court rooms.
Moreover, entry of litigants, clerks and agents of the advocates into the court rooms shall remain prohibited for the time being. “
However, entry of witnesses and accused only shall be permitted in District and Subordinate Courts and Tribunals provided they are fully vaccinated and subject to strict compliance of SOPs pertaining to the containment of Covid-19 infection.
The entry in the District and Subordinate Courts and Tribunals shall be permitted to only fully vaccinated persons from the outer gate of the Court Complex.
“Judicial custody remands shall be given only through video conferencing as far as permissible,” the order reads, adding, “The modified guidelines will come into effect from 14 February, 2022.”