Hybrid Hearing From July 5, Only First Jab Takers To Get Court Entry: Rajasthan High Court Modifies Functioning Modalities

The Rajasthan High Court has issued a fresh Notification for regular hearing of cases in Rajasthan High Court from July 5, 2021 till further orders both by physical presence and video conferencing (hybrid mode).This notification comes after the Rajasthan High Court recently suspended its earlier decision to resume the regular hearing of cases from 28th June 2021 in a hybrid manner. In its earlier decision, the High Court had decided to permit entry into the court premises only to those persons who have completed 14 days after their second dose of Covid-19 vaccination.Now, it has been decided that entry in the court premises will be permitted only to the persons who have taken 1st dose of Covid-19 vaccine.A web portal on the website of Rajasthan High Court (https://hcraj.nic.in) has been provided for learned Advocates and Parties-in-person to upload their Vaccination Certificates. The Vaccination certificate of the Advocates' Clerk will be uploaded through the concerned Advocate with whom he is registered. After verification of vaccination certificates, online authorization cards and SMS will be issued which is required to be shown at entry gates. Detailed process to upload the vaccination certificates with screenshots is enclosed. For early issuance of online authorization Card and SMS, all concerned are requested to upload their vaccination certificates at the earliest to avoid any inconvenience.Earlier, the physical hearing of cases was to resume in Rajasthan High Court on June 28, after a gap of almost three months during which cases were being heard through video conferencing.This decision was opposed by the Bar Council of Rajasthan in its letter addressed to the Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court."The above restriction of advocates to enter into the court premises is having no proper reasoning as majority of the lawyers are not vaccinated for 2nd dose across the state for the circumstances beyond their control. Kindly consider that there is no such restriction by the State for movement of an individual", the letter stated.Functioning Modalities "All the Benches of High Court shall function regularly in hybrid mode from 10.30 AM to 4.30 PM with lunch break from 1: 00 PM to 2:00 PM. Hearing of the matters shall be permitted both through physical appearance and video conferencing. In view of prevailing conditions, as a preventive measure, all concerned may prefer virtual mode of hearing", the notification stated.The notification also permitted hearings to be conducted simultaneously through physical appearance as well as video conference in a given case. Lawyers can choose to appear either virtually or physically in a proceeding after a prior notice."Learned Advocates or parties-in person opting for video conferencing would intimate the Court Master of concerned Hon'ble Court at least a day before the date of listing for the cases listed in Daily List and before 8.00 am on the day of listing for the cases listed in Supplementary list. No request for virtual hearing sent after stipulated time will be entertained", the notification said. The name and mobile number of Court Master shall be published in the cause list itself so that lawyers can intimate their preference for a video conference within a stipulated time.Web portal for uploading proof of vaccination certificates:A web portal has been launched on the official website of the Rajasthan High Court (https:/ftrcraj.nic.in) for lawyers and litigants to upload their final vaccination certificates. The final vaccination certificates of Advocates' Clerks have to be uploaded through the concerned Advocate with whom he is registered. After verification of vaccination certificates, online authorization cards and SMS shall be issued which has to be mandatorily shown at the entry gates. The detailed procedure for uploading such vaccination certificates have been enclosed in the notification.Entry Restrictions:Other than parties-in-person, only such litigants will be permitted entry in court premises for whose presence, specific directions have been given by the Hon'ble Court. Such litigant shall produce copy of the order of Hon'ble Court directing his physical presence and the final vaccination certificate.Advocate Clerks would be permitted to enter the premises through identity cards only and after verification of their final vaccination certificate.Entry of Advocates in court premises would be through e-pass. E-Passes shall be issued to the Advocates who have to appear in the court for the purpose of hearing and ancillary purposes. These passes will remain valid for a particular day and the entry will be strictly upon presentation of the E-Pass.Personal presence of accused persons in Appeals/Revisions shall stand exempted till further orders.Entry of law interns in the court premises is strictly prohibited.No person without mask shall be allowed to enter and move around in the premises.Procedure for hearings conducted through video conference:The concerned ...

Hybrid Hearing From July 5, Only First Jab Takers To Get Court Entry: Rajasthan High Court Modifies Functioning Modalities

Sparsh Upadhyay

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