Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 9: Keeping in view the gradual improvement in the condition arising out of COVID-19, Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal has ordered physical hearing of cases in the High Court, District and Subordinate Courts and Tribunals in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh from February 14, 2022.
As per the order, physical hearing of cases will begin from February 14 but with the restriction that in no court room more than 10 advocates would be allowed at a time. “The District and Subordinate Courts and Tribunals in UTs of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh will also start functioning through physical mode and the entry of advocates into the court rooms before District and Subordinate Courts and Tribunals shall be restricted to five 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 and only those advocates whose cases are listed in the courts and who are fully vaccinated will be allowed entry in the court rooms”, the order said.
The entry of litigants, clerks and agents of the Advocates into the court rooms will remain prohibited for the time being and the entry of witness(s) and accused person(s) only will 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.
“Entry in the District and Subordinate Courts and Tribunals will be permitted to only fully vaccinated persons from the outer gate of the court complex”, the order said, adding “judicial custody remands will be given only through video conferencing as far as permissible”.
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