LI Network
Published on: 7 August 2023 at 12:50 IST
The Gujarat High Court has extended the ongoing pilot implementation of hybrid mode hearings to all court working days, starting from August 7, 2023.
Initially, this facility was limited to Thursdays, applicable to benches presided over by Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Biren A. Vaishnav.
The decision to extend the hybrid hearing system was approved and directed by the Chief Justice, and a circular was issued on Saturday to formalize the extension.
The hybrid hearing system was introduced in June of the same year to enable arguing counsels and senior counsels to appear through video conferencing.
Under the system’s standard operating procedure (SOP), advocates registered with the High Court Registry, representing either party in listed matters, can inform the Registry through the online module about their preference to appear through video conferencing.
They can also provide the name of any other advocate or senior advocate representing them.
According to the circular issued on June 13, advocates are strictly prohibited from forwarding the video conferencing link to anyone else, as only the specified advocate and the concerned advocate or senior advocate named in the hybrid hearing option will be allowed to join the video conference hearing.
The circular also mentions that the Gujarat High Court (Live Streaming of Court Proceedings) Rules, 2021, will be applicable to hybrid hearings with necessary modifications to accommodate the new system.
It further states that following a successful pilot implementation of hybrid hearings, the facility will be gradually expanded to other benches of the high court.
