Delhi High Court directs District Courts to permit hybrid hearings

On Monday, the Delhi High Court directed all district courts of the national capital to permit hybrid hearing of cases without any prior request.

The High Court issued the office order stating that the hybrid hearings would now be allowed without any prior request. It means the counsel and parties can be presented in hearings through video conferencing without any geographical barriers. So, now a party or counsel doesn’t need to present physically before the court. In other words, they can join the hearing of their cases through hybrid hearing modes without any prior request and also with no any geographical boundaries.

Till now, the counsels/parties had to appear physically by being presented in the courtroom. If they wanted to appear through hybrid modes i.e. video conferencing, they had to submit a formal request in writing or via email at least a day before the hearing.

The High Court further directed that during the conduction of hearings in hybrid mode, the judicial officers should ensure that any person other than the parties and/or the counsel can’t digitally join or access the proceedings in some specific categories of cases. Those cases include matrimonial matters, sexual offences related cases, violence against women, and other matters related to Care & Protection of Children or Juvenile Justice.

Furthermore, no third parties would be allowed to the hearings of the cases involving the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971, in-camera proceedings, recording or evidence, also the cross examination.

According to the order, the parties who are not related to the case would not be permitted to join the proceedings in matters in which the court believes that the publication would be ‘antithetical’ to the cases that may ‘provoke enmity’ amongst the communities or cause ‘breach’ of law & order. However, in such cases, the concerned court would have to record the reasons behind curbing the presence of third parties.

Source: https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/delhi-high-court-makes-hybrid-hearings-mandatory-in-all-district-courts-in-national-capital