RANCHI: Amid the ongoing energy crisis, the Jharkhand High Court has directed all lower courts to function in a hybrid mode with immediate effect.
Under this arrangement, court hearings and witness testimonies can be conducted virtually via video conferencing, ensuring that the judicial process continues without any interruption.
The directive has been issued to all principal district and sessions judges—including the Judicial Commissioner of Ranchi—instructing them to implement a ‘hybrid mode’ of functioning within the courts as well as to introduce a car-pooling arrangement among judicial officers and staff.
The high court has urged that lawyers, witnesses and litigants be encouraged to embrace this digital system. Furthermore, to conserve fuel, strict orders have been issued to all judicial officers and staff to implement carpooling and vehicle-sharing arrangements among themselves.
In this regard, the Registrar General of the high court, Satyaprakash Sinha, has issued a letter to all District and Sessions Judges across the state, as well as to the Judicial Commissioner of Ranchi, stating that—given the prevailing energy crisis—all courts shall function in a ‘hybrid mode’ with immediate effect.
“This initiative is being taken following the direction of Chief Justice MS Sonak,” said the Registrar General. The operation of HC will also be conducted in hybrid mode once the vacations are over, he added. Currently, the high court is observing its summer vacation; the court is scheduled to reopen on June 8. Instructions have also been issued to encourage advocates, litigants, and witnesses to appear virtually via video conferencing.
The HC has also clarified that during virtual hearings, the rules, guidelines, and SOPs prescribed by the Jharkhand HC must be strictly adhered to.
Besides that, all judicial officers and staff have been urged to adopt carpooling and vehicle-sharing arrangements for their daily commute to and from the court in order to ensure fuel conservation.
Earlier on Friday, a delegation of advocates had demanded to conduct the proceedings in online mode. The court that over the past few days, several petrol pumps in the state have run dry and remain closed due to the global fuel crisis.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also urged the citizens of the country to work from home. In light of this situation, it would be advisable that the hearings at the state courts be conducted online, the Jharkhand HC said.
‘Embrace digital system’
The directive has been issued to all principal district and sessions judges—including the Judicial Commissioner of Ranchi—instructing them to implement a ‘hybrid mode’ of functioning within the courts as well as to introduce a car-pooling arrangement among judicial officers and staff. The HC has urged that lawyers, witnesses and litigants be encouraged to embrace this digital system.