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Delhi High Court Reissue Physical Hearing Directives.
The Administration of The High Court of Delhi issued a decree addressing the implementation of a hybrid process to enable both virtual and physical hearings while implementing a partial modification of its original circular issued on the 14th of January which was regarding the resumption of physical hearings. A result of the new modification to the original circular is that it ensures that a lawyer might still be able to appear for the hearing of a matter virtually that is at the time referred to for a physical hearing, given that early intimation is provided.
The most recent directive clarifies:
A party can take part in proceedings in a virtual format, whereas the other party can be present physically while the proceedings take place in court. however, the Court shall only accept a request for consideration to hear any such matter on a virtual basis, only when prior intimation is given. Furthermore, matters will be selected for physical hearing as per the Judges' Roster and measures have already been taken in the courtroom of the Chief Justice in order to set up the right infrastructure and facilitate a hybrid system.
The developments address the issues raised by certain portions of the Bar in relation to the previous decision of the High Court to restart the physical hearings of certain Benches of the Court on the 18th of January. In this respect, a number of appeals have been lodged with the Supreme Court and concerns were reported highlighting that there was no option of a virtual hearing being provided for the lawyer/party involved. Earlier in the week, the Supreme Court refused to get involved in the case, saying that it had confidence in the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court to make an informed and reasonable decision on the matter.
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