Patiala House court to hear urgent matters via video conference amid lockdown

The Patiala House court has decided to conduct proceedings in the urgent matter through video conferencing due to ongoing lockdown imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus.

District and Sessions Judge Dinesh Kumar Sharma has directed Computer Branch in charge to assist all the litigants and advocates who want to avail video conferencing facility.

In a circular, it was stated that pursuant to the directions of Supreme Court of India in suo motu writ dated April 6 regarding video conferencing in District Courts, the process of providing video conferencing facility to the district judiciary is in progress.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court has desired that the District Courts may use the platform of CISCO WEBEX in the interregnum period for video conferencing to meet the exigencies.

The necessary protocol for conducting the hearing through CISCO WEBEX is workable as the advocate and litigant may file an application by email at phcourts@gmail.com for hearing through video conferencing and shall also send the copy of bail application, petition or suit or any other matter on the same e-mail.

According to circular, the parties shall send the consent and reply through their respective e-mail to official mail and the copy of mail shall be sent by the Branch Incharge Computers forthwith to the opposing party and advocate.

The Incharge of Filing Counter shall inform the next date and time slot for hearing in consultation with the Judge on duty on that day or on the day when the hearing is fixed to the advocates and the other party.

The circular further added that in case the parties are able to conductvideo conference from their own locations, the Judge shall conductthe hearing on video conferencing and dispose of the matter.

If the parties are not equipped to conduct the hearing from their locations, the facility for video conferencing shall be made available in the District & Session's Judge Conference Room of the Patiala House Courts and the Computer Branch.

The Judge after hearing the matter shall dispose of the matter andshall immediately upload the order on the website and the parties maydownload the same from the court's website, said the circular.

The circular also clarified that in case the parties choose not to conduct the matter through video conferencing, the protocol earlier in place shall continue.