Srinagar, Mar 10: J&K and Ladakh High Court on Thursday ordered that judicial work in both of its wings at Srinagar and Jammu respectively as well as in all Subordinate Courts including Tribunals shall be through physical mode from March 14.

Amid significant decline in covid-19 cases, the court however ordered that “virtual hearing is not prohibited” either.

“Advocates are allowed entry in the Court rooms in the High Court and all the Subordinate Courts to a limited extent avoiding concentration but clerks and litigants are not allowed,” the order by the Registrar General Sanjeev Gupta reads, adding, “The Counsels awaiting their hearing(s), may wait in the designated Bar Lounges/Libraries and may avoid crowding in the corridors.”

The order said that only those advocates whose cases are listed in the Courts and who are fully vaccinated shall be allowed entry in the Court rooms.

“The guidelines and protocols for prevention of Covid-19 contagion including wearing of masks, frequent use of hand sanitizer and maintaining safe distancing norms are mandatory for all the entrants into the Court premises,” the order reads, adding, “Entry of witness(s) and accused person(s) shall be permitted in District and Subordinate Courts provided they are fully vaccinated and subject to strict compliance of SOPs pertaining to the containment of Covid-19 infection.”

Entry of litigants in the Court premises, the court said, shall be permitted to only fully vaccinated persons from the outer gate of the Court Complex. “Judicial custody remands shall be given only through video conferencing as far as permissible.” The modified guidelines will come into effect from March 14, the order added.