BHOPAL/JABALPUR: Lawyers have generally welcomed the commencement of physical hearing along with virtual hearing in the MP high court. Overwhelming majority among them feel that physical hearing allows them to present the side of their client in a proper manner and the glitches encountered during the virtual hearing of cases are largely taken care of.
Senior counsel Naman Nagrath said that virtual hearing of cases had begun due to Covid-19 pandemic and now that the situation is under control, physical hearing has also begun. With both virtual and physical hearings possible, lawyers are feeling relieved. In cases where elaborate arguments are required or there are a lot of documents involved, physical hearing becomes desirable. Presenting facts before the court is not easy in virtual hearing. The Corona situation over the next one month would decide whether full-fledged physical hearing of cases would begin.
Advocate Rajesh Chandra said after the physical hearing has begun, cases are coming up for hearing early. During virtual hearing, if you fail to appear for some reason during hearing, the case would be deferred for four weeks. With physical hearing back, you can apprise the court of the situation why you had to skip the hearing and urgency of hearing in case and if the court is convinced, they can take up the case for hearing early.
Advocate Sanjay Verma said that physical hearing is the way cases are heard by the courts, it was in an extraordinary situation that virtual hearing was resorted to.But, there were quite a few technical issues like dysfunctional server or internet connectivity not being available which the courts and advocates were facing.
After the physical hearing began, the courts have also started hearing old pending cases.
Advocate Aditya Sanghi, however, had a different view. He said virtual hearing is one way to ensure cheaper justice to people. An advocate through virtual mode may appear before any high court or the supreme court. The litigants, too, have to spend less. Their expenditure on travel, boarding, and food is saved. Virtual mode of hearing should continue in the future as well. Every new system will have initial glitches, we must learn from them to strengthen the system rather than quitting it.
