Early Times Report
JAMMU, Apr 7: Lawyers practicing in Jammu wing of J&K High Court and Subordinate Courts submitted a memorandum signed by 84 advocates to the Chief Justice of J&K High Court. They demanded reconsideration and withdrawal of the order No. 189 of 2021/RG dated 5.4.2021 passed by the High Court of J&K whereby all Courts in J&K including High Court and Subordinate Courts have been shifted from physical to virtual hearing mode. Through the memorandum they apprised the Chief Justice that the virtual mode was no alternative to the physical mode of hearing cases. The lawyers, who are officers of court, are unable to perform their professional duties of representing their clients in the Courts through virtual mode. Ultimately, both lawyers and justice seeking public are sufferers. The institution of Judiciary is also suffering in its image and hope for citizens, they said in their memorandum.
The lawyers added that other systems, whether Legislature, Executive, Press and business establishments, electioneering, means of transport, marriage functions, hotels etc. had since long resumed their normal functioning. They further added that in the Courts, Lawyers and General public stand at distance from Judges and the lawyers observe all SOPs as prescribed by Govt. from time to time in view of Covid-19 situation. Hoping positive response, the lawyers requested for reconsideration and withdrawing the order dated 5.4.2021 and making the hearings in all courts through physical mode in the broader interest of citizens, members of lawyers' community and in interest of justice. The prominent signatories to the memorandum included: HC Jalmeria, DK Khajuria, BS Manhas, MP Gupta, DS Parihar, CS Gupta, Ashok Sharma, BS Jamwal, KC Sharma, ML Bhardwaj, SC Mansotra, Amrit Sarin, Rajinder Singh Jamwal and several others. |
