Gauhati High Court to resume functioning from April 20, 2020

Video-conference facility to ensure social distancing between judges & advocates

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The principal seat of the Gauhati High Court in Guwahati will resume functioning from April 20, 2020 by taking up only cases of urgent nature in courtrooms which are fully equipped with facilities for video-conferencing. These video conferencing facilities are in aid of maintaining the social distance between advocates and judges. While advocates now have a special arrangement to make their submission, judges have remote locations to sit at. All these arrangements have been made as a response to the outbreak of COVID-19.

In a notification issued on April 15, 2020, the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court said that separate facility has been arranged in the High Court complexes from where advocates can make their submission. The judges, according to the notification, shall sit at remote locations.

If any advocates desires to conduct his/her case from his/her residence/office in the Principal Seat, he/she is required to observe the protocol – (i) the advocate must have internet connection with bandwidth not less than 5 Mbps, (ii) the advocate shall be required to download “VidyoMobile” (for mobile phone users) from Play Store or App Store; or “VidyoDesktop” (for desktop or laptop users) from the URL http://ecourtvc.nic.in/downloaded.html?lang=en for the purpose of availing the facility of video-conferencing. In respect of outlaying benches in Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh, the Chief Justice has directed the respective registrars to public notification regarding nodal officers with their contact numbers. The Chief Justice has also directed all district courts of Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh under the jurisdiction of the Gauhati High Court to make necessary arrangements for video-conferencing facility.

The Chief Justice has extended his direction issued on March 24, 2020 up to April 3, 2020.

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