Gauhati High Court Introduces Fuel-Saving Measures: Directs Virtual Hearings Twice A Week, 50% Staff Attendance Till June 26

The Gauhati High Court on Thursday (May 21) issues guidelines regarding virtual hearings, car-pooling for Judges, roster, mandatory use of e-office, training programs to be done in online mode, in terms of circular issued by the Supreme Court dated May 15, in line with Union government's fuel conservation measures.

The SOP issued in respect of the Principal Seat and the Outlying Benches of the Gauhati High Court and the District courts under its jurisdiction, covers a range of issues as follows:

1. All matters listed before the Courts on Mondays and Fridays will be heard preferably through video-conferencing. Video Conferencing (VC) links will be provided for all such hearings.

2. Car-Pooling for Judges: To ensure optimum utilization of fuel, the Hon'ble Judges of the Gauhati High Court are encouraged to adopt car-pooling arrangements wherever possible/ feasible.

3. Use of official vehicles for administrative errands shall be restricted. Department/Section is directed to club multiple requirements into a single trip where possible.

4. Up to 50% of staff in each Section (All Administrative & Judicial Sections etc., except those exempted) shall attend office on each alternate day subject to administrative convenience.

5. The administrative file movements and communications must be processed strictly through the e-Office platform. Physical movement of such files is discouraged unless the matter is required to be processed physically and movement thereof, is not otherwise feasible.

6. Staff on roster not physically present must remain available via telephone/mobile and e-Office during official hours and be ready to attend office at short notice, if required. Registrars of respective sections shall prepare and notify a weekly roster before the commencement of each week. Administrative Officers (Judicial) shall monitor the e-Office dashboard to ensure the timely completion of assigned tasks.

7. All the administrative meetings of the different Committees will be held through video conferencing and the briefs of the meetings will be shared through email to the Hon'ble Committee Members.

8. Specific Exemptions: The Protocol Section, Filing Section, Copying Section, Bench Section, Computer Section & the e-Courts Division are hereby exempted from the aforesaid work-from-home arrangements and fuel conservation measures. Given the essential nature of their duties—specifically the requirement for physical coordination and the technical mandate to maintain stable video-conferencing and server facilities—these sections shall remain fully operational on-site to ensure the continuity of court proceedings and administrative support.

9. If any competent authority is of the opinion that the roster arrangement is hindering the essential functioning of a specific branch, they may modify or restrict these arrangements for that branch with prior approval from the Registrar General.

10. The respective District Judges/Chief Judicial Magistrates /Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrates shall publish separate notification/office orders to give effect to this SOP in their respective districts. The same duty is cast upon Presiding Officers of MACT, Industrial Tribunals, Labour Courts, Principal Judges of Family Courts, CBI Courts, Special Judge, NIA/CBI and other like establishments under the jurisdiction of the Gauhati High Court.

11.All training programmes imparted by the Judicial Academy, Assam, shall be done through virtual/online mode.

The SOP shall come into force with effect from May 25, 2026. It will continue till June 26, 2026 and it will be reviewed thereafter.

Click Here To Read/Download Notification