COVID Spike: Orissa HC To Go Virtual From Jan 10, Subordinate Courts To Function With Half Strength

The Orissa High Court on Friday issued a slew of new guidelines for the operation of its benches and other subordinate courts in the State in view of the resurgence of Covid cases in Odisha.

As part of the move, Orissa High Court has decided that all its Benches shall function only through Video Conferencing during the period from 10th January 2022 till 4th February 2022.

The Subordinate Courts/ Tribunals shall function with 50% staff on a rotation basis on each working day during the period from 10 January 2022 to 4th February 2022, which shall automatically get extended or vacated on extension or vacation of the restrictions, as the case may be, by the State Govt, the Registrar of the HC said in a notice.

Similarly, the offices of the High Court shall function with 50% strength of employees (except Officers in the rank of Assistant Registrar and above who shall attend office daily) during the period under the instructions of the concerned officer.

The roster for 50% attendance of employees in High Court shall be prepared by the Superintendents in such a manner that the employees are required to attend office on alternate days and they shall not leave the headquarters during the above period, the HC Registrar said in the notice.

Other Guidelines For High Court Functioning

• While attending office the employees must carry their Identity Cards.
• The Deputy Registrar (Judicial) shall supervise the roster for attendance of employees of Filing, Listing and all Judicial Sections.
• The Central Project Coordinator shall supervise the roster for attendance of employees of the Computer Section.
• The respective Controlling Officers shall supervise the roster for attendance of employees of Administrative Sections.
• Except for the Officers and staff of the Court, there shall be restrictions for others over entry into the High Court campus. However, in a case where there is specific direction of any Bench for removal of defects, the Advocate concerned may come to the High Court for the limited purpose of removal of defects with prior intimation to Deputy Registrar (Judicial).
• Cases shall be listed during this period, with the defects pointed out by the Stamp Reporting Section.
• Filing of cases and documents shall be done through e-Filing portal as usual or through Drop Box (kept near the counters of the Copying Section) from 10.30 A.M. to 2.00 P.M.
• Learned counsel and parties-in-person may visit the link "e-Filing" under the Menu option "e-services" in the Court's Website for the purpose of e-Filing. The e-Filing helpline Numbers mentioned in the link "NOTIFICATION POR E-FILING" available in the e-Filing page may be contacted for any assistance.
• For listing of cases, mention shall be made by filing Mention Memos in the DropBox (kept near the counters of Copying Section) between 11.00 A.M. and 12.00 Noon. Urgent matters where oral mentioning is felt necessary may be done before the Deputy Registrar (Judicial) through Video Conferencing between 11.00 A.M. and 12.00 Noon in link https://meet.jit.si/ohcdrjudicialmention. In case of extreme urgency, matters may be mentioned before the respective Benches through Video Conferencing.
• The usual practice of grant of certified copies shall remain suspended and a printout of the Order and Judgment passed by the Court as available in the Court's website may be utilized in lieu of a certified copy thereof, subject to it being attested by the Advocate concerned. Where no Advocate has been engaged, such copy shall be self-attested by the party-in-person.
• Functioning of the Lawzima Courts shall remain suspended.
• The Medical Dispensaries of the High Court shall function as usual.
• The Security Personnel deployed in the High Court shall be on duty as usual.
• In addition to the existing two V.C. Cabins, one more V.C. Cabin shall be functional in Odisha State Bar Council premises to facilitate appearance of the counsel through Video Conferencing. All concerned are requested to cooperate with the said arrangements made with a view to containing the spike in COVID-19 and Omicron cases.