KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court has decided to increase judicial activities from September 8 and has also directed the district courts to take appropriate measures to take up more pending cases, Registrar General Rai Chattopadhyay said here on Wednesday.
Chief Justice T B N Radhakrishnan, upon consideration of the recommendation of the COVID Committee of the High Court comprising senior judges, has ordered that attempt should be made for making provisions for taking up of criminal appeals up to the year 2018, which are ready for hearing.
Civil and criminal revision filed up to 2018 which are ready for hearing, and petitions filed under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 up to the year 2019 which are ready for hearing, should also be attempted to be taken up, the order, dated August 31, said.
"This will be purely on the basis of the consent of all effective parties and applications may be filed indicating the consent of parties for such matters to be listed," the Chief Justice's order said.
It said that as per the agreement of the parties, the hearings can be exclusively by video conference or in the hybrid form or even physically, provided that, no more than eight lawyers are required to be present in court at any given point of time.
Beginning September 8, there should be three division benches sitting on a daily basis in addition to the bench presided over by the Chief Justice and four single benches, the order said.
All matters pertaining to the Port Blair Circuit Bench will be heard every Wednesday in the video conference room, with a division bench and a single bench taking up petitions listed for hearing, Chattopadhyay said.
The order said that as far as the district courts are concerned, district judges should take appropriate measures, as the circumstances warrant, to increase the functioning in the courts.
"For a start, criminal trials in which the recording of evidence has been completed should be taken up for completion of arguments. Similarly, civil suits where evidence has been closed should also be taken for the completion of arguments," the chief justice's order said.
It said that upon the consent of both sides, recording of evidence can also begin in criminal trials and civil suits.