With steady rise in the number of COVID-19 positive cases in Bengaluru, the High Court of Karnataka will again switch over to virtual mode for hearing of cases by suspending the hybrid mode (which had allowed hearing both in physical and virtual formats) at its Principal Bench in Bengalueu from January 5 to 14.
The High Court issued new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on Tuesday for its three Benches at Bengaluru, Dharwad and Kalaburagi, and the district and sessions courts of Bengaluru urban and rural districts.
However, the hearing of cases at the Benches at Dharwad and Kalaburagi would continue in hybrid mode with a condition that the party-in-person litigants will have to appear only through virtual mode and option of appearing either through virtual or physical mode is open only for advocates of these two Benches.
Meanwhile, at the Principal Bench the petitions can be filed in three modes – submitting physical copies in designated courters, sending scanned copy in PDF format to the designated e-mail IDs, and through e-format using court’s portal.
In cases of all the courts functioning from the city civil court complex and Mayo hall court complex in Bengaluru city, the courts shall take-up only the urgent matters/ bail applications/interim application, the SOP stated. The hearing of such matters shall be through hybrid mode, and as for as possible the same shall be heard through video conferencing, it has been notified in the SOP.
