The Madras High Court set to become the first High Court to begin physical court hearings after a long halt of about 6 Months.
In an urgent notification released on 29th August 2020, the Madras High Court has notified its decision to recommence physical court hearing in a phased manner from September 7. As per the notification, the physical court hearing will begin in six division benches at the Principal Seat of the HC at Madras and two-division benches at the Madurai Bench. A combination of physical and virtual court hearing is slated to take place under the HC. Due measures have been adopted to implement social-distancing norms within the HC premises effectively. The physical court hearing of 3 division benches at Madras will be conducted in the pre-lunch session, while the remaining three-division benches will utilise the post-lunch sessions of the Court. The virtual court hearings will take place alternatively for the rest of the day. The arrangement seeks to minimise the chances of crowding in the HC premises during the hearing.
The decision is sought to be implemented on a trial basis to assess the plausibility of conducting real-time hearings amidst the challenges posed by the outbreak of the pandemic. According to the notification, sufficient amendments may be made in the arrangement after observing the functioning of courts in the proposed manner for two weeks.
The remaining benches of the High Court will continue to function in virtual mode until appropriate decisions are taken in the matter by the respective authority.
Reported By : Lakshmi Raj C