SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Oct 1: The reopening of the district court after 19 months from today (Friday) has brought a smile to the faces of lawyers and litigants in Dhanbad court.
“After control on Covid -19 cases in the state, lawyers and litigants were frantically waiting for physical hearing of cases in the court for long. The Bar Association welcomes the order of the High Court. However, lawyers and litigants both have been directed to follow Covid-19 standard operating procedure (SOP) strictly in the court for safety. Wear a mask, use sanitizer and maintain social distancing,” said advocate Amrendra Sahay, president, Dhanbad bar Association.
With the opening order of physical hearing, a heavy rush of lawyers and litigants were seen reaching ‘Sarista’ as well as the court premises since early morning on Friday.
Jharkhand High Court on Thursday had issued a notification for restarting physical hearing of cases in district courts from Friday across the state. In wake of the Corona pandemic, physical hearing of cases in courts of state had been suspended since March 24, 2020.
However, later on, the High court and district courts started virtual hearing of cases which was continued till Thursday (September 30, 2021). The majority of lawyers and litigants were facing sheer hardship due to suspension of physical hearing of cases in the court.
There are over 4,000 registered practitioner lawyers in Dhanbad and most of them of course arrived daily in the court during the virtual hearings of cases. But very few of them were able to get clients daily. The majority of them had to return empty-handed almost every day.
“ In virtual hearing of cases, several lawyers were facing a financial crisis and litigants were gasping for timely justice. But now from starting of the physical court, both will be benefited. After all, it has brought a smile on the face of lawyers and litigants after March 2020,” said Abhay Bhatt, a senior lawyer of Dhanbad Court.
A litigant of Nirsa block Nimai Mandal said with starting of physical hearing, he now hopes that his son who is lodged in jail for three months would get bail soon.
