Jharkhand HC takes up 365 cases through video conference on a single day

RANCHI: Two division benches and 13 single benches of the Jharkhand high court on Tuesday heard a total of 365 cases, a significant jump in the number of hearings through video-conferencing on a single day.
During the hearings, all advocates donned uniform under the new dress code prescribed by the high court in accordance with a Supreme Court directive. On Sunday, the Supreme Court issued a notification directing advocates to wear plain white shirt or white salwar kameez with a plain white neck band for hearings in HC and subordinate courts, which came into effect from Monday.
Jharkhand HC Chief Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan and Justice HC Mishra headed the division benches and heard cases related to digitized records. Registrar general Ambuj Nath said as many as 122 cases were disposed of during the day. He said, “A large number of bail and anticipatory bail petitions were listed before the single benches.”
He added, “This system will continue for three days. However, the number of cases to be taken up by the HC will rise considerably in the following days compared to the earlier period of lockdown. We are making a list of cases ready to be taken up in this regard.”
Official sources said the HC staff also worked on Saturday and Sunday and the court has set up six video-conferencing kiosks on its premises for advocates not having adequate facilities at home. However, all lawyers, barring about a dozen, opted to be connected from their homes on Tuesday.
The sources said a link was sent to the counsel or party of a case scheduled for hearing through Google meet or Cisco webex. Counsels or parties concerned were asked to their respective court masters for the link.
The Advocates Association, Jharkhand HC has welcomed the process. General secretary of the association, Navin Kumar, said, “We had approached the HC administration in this regard, seeking increase in hearings. It is a positive development that so many benches functioned through video conference.”
The association has appealed to its members to follow the norms for prevention of coronavirus spread during the entire exercise. Earlier, the HC has also postponed its summer vacation sine die, subject to any new decisions.