All the court in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh have decided to shift to virtual mode amid a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases, officials said on Thursday.
In an order, Registrar General Jawad Ahmed said the Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh directed that the hearing and filing of cases in the Union Territories and other subordinate courts and Tribunals shall be conducted through virtual mode.
“However, physical hearing in respect of any listed matter will be at the discretion of the Bench,” said the Registrar General Jawad Ahmed.
He said, for smooth hearing of the cases through virtual mode, the Registrars Judicial of both wings of the High Court in coordination with the CPC e-Courts shall create a link for each Bench in their respective wings and provide the same to the advocates/litigants by making it available on the official website of the High Court or through any appropriate electronic mode.
The filing of cases shall be in accordance with the Electronic Filing (e-Filing) in the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh and in Subordinate Courts and Tribunals of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, Rules, 2021 either through e-Filing portal of the High Court https://efiling.ecourts.qov.in/ ik/ or through e-mail address.
The entry of litigants and public into the Court premises from the very outer gate shall be strictly prohibited.
Entry of lawyers in the District Courts/Subordinate Courts premises is not required unless any advocate is permitted for physical hearing in any extremely urgent matter. These directions shall remain in force till January 31. 2022 unless reviewed earlier.
It was another bleak day for Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday which recorded five fatalities due to Covid-19 with a steep spike in daily cases.
Officials said 1966 new cases were reported in the union territory in past 24 hours with 1077 cases in Kashmir and 889 cases in Jammu.
Five more patients who had contracted the deadly virus died in past 24 hours with two new deaths in Jammu division and three in Kashmir.