Kerala High Court Issues Standard Operating Procedure For Attending Proceedings Through Video Conferencing

The Kerala High Court issued guidelines for attending court proceedings through Video Conferencing (VC) called Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). This shall be in addition to the existing Electronic Video Linkage Rules for Courts (Kerala) 2021.General Guidelines:VC links are provided on the official website of the High Court on the page showing the Cause list after the column, 'VC Request'. The guidelines for participating through VC is provided in the E-Courts website.When accessing VC links, advocates or parties should provide the item number of all the cases that they are representing.Advocates or participants can raise their queries to the court officer through the chat facility. The court officer may remove viewers not participating in court proceedings if the number of participants exceeds the maximum log-ins permitted through the software.Restrictions: Advocates can appear online through VC without restrictions. But the High Court can restrict the participation of the litigant or any other person as per its Rules or Practice Directions. Participants should avoid logging in from multiple devices at a single point in time to avoid echo or other voice disturbances. Advocates or parties should keep their microphones muted when joining the court proceedings and they should only unmute them when their item number is called out. Also, the mobile phones of all participants should be switched off or kept in flight mode during the court proceedings. Advocates or parties should not log in VC links from vehicles like a car. They should only log in from a quiet location with sufficient internet coverage. All participants should keep their cameras switched on during the court proceedings in virtual mode and remain attentive and should not engage in any other work during the proceedings. Only Advocates or duly authorized persons are entitled to address the court and the court officer can mute or unmute any other participant. The Court proceedings accessed through VC links are judicial proceedings and all protocols applicable in physical courts are also applicable to virtual proceedings. If any participant indulges in inappropriate activities during virtual proceedings, the Court can take action against them. Recording of Court proceedings is not allowed. If in-camera proceedings are held, virtual hearings would be restricted.Dress Code:Advocates appearing online should wear attire prescribed by BCI under the Advocates Act. Police Officers or other uniformed officers shall wear uniforms as prescribed under relevant statutes or orders. Other persons shall wear sober attire consistent with the dignity of the court proceedings.Click here to Read/Download the Order

Kerala High Court Issues Standard Operating Procedure For Attending Proceedings Through Video Conferencing

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