KOLKATA: A section of lawyers appeared in physical open courts at the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday, even as some other advocates chose to plead their matters through video-conferencing.
Ending an impasse over the issue of advocates attending physical open courts amid the COVID-19 crisis, three representative associations of the lawyers at the high court had passed separate resolutions last week that left it to individual lawyers to decide on whether to plead their cases in open court rooms.
Six courts - four division benches and two single benches - sat on Tuesday to take up various listed matters, including criminal and civil cases.
While a section of advocates, including prosecution lawyers, appeared in open courts, some others pleaded their matters through video conferencing.
In some matters, hybrid hearings were held with the lawyer representing a litigant appearing in person while the other lawyer arguing the matter through video link.
The High Court Bar Association took a resolution last week letting the lawyers decide on attending physical open courts.
The Bar Library Club, which had also taken a similar resolution, did not make further requests to its members not to appear in physical open courts, its honorary general secretary Pramit Ray had said.
The Bar Library Club left it to the individual lawyers to decide on whether to participate in the hearings in physical open court from Monday.
There was no sitting of the high court on Monday after a full court reference was made mourning the demise of Justice Pratik Prakash Banerjee.
The high court had reopened for physical hearing of cases on June 11 after a gap of over two-and-a-half months since normal functioning was stopped owing to the lockdown.
It had been taking up only very urgent matters through video conference hearings.
The high court administration had on June 16 said that hearings through video conference will continue as earlier, along with physical functioning of the court.
Most lawyers, however, stayed away from attending the court for physical hearing following a decision by the Calcutta High Court Bar Association not to attend the proceedings citing safety issues over the pandemic.
The Bar Library Club and the Incorporated Law Society had also made similar requests to their respective members.