PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court is planning to set up virtual courts in the merged tribal districts, said registrar of the high court Khawaja Wajihuddin on Saturday.

He was speaking during a virtual follow-up meeting of the first Registrars Conference, which was held here in Feb.

Senior officers of all high courts, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s, participated in it through a video link.

According to a news release issued here, the participants examined the decisions of the previous conference and exchange views for the implementation of the recommendations of that conference.

The virtual conference was organised on the initiative of the Peshawar High Court to chalk out a uniform policy to address common problems arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic.

PHC registrar calls for mechanism to prevent delay in dispensation of justice

The participants said the pandemic had paralysed many sectors in the country and courts, too, had suffered setbacks due to lockdown.

The PHC registrar said the much-needed conference of high court registrars was arranged through video link keeping in view the commitment of the Supreme Court chief justice to the continued functioning of the courts to deliver justice.

He said the outbreak of novel coronavirus had paralysed the judicial system and collaborative effort was needed all the more.

“The use of modern day technology has assumed importance during the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.

The registrar said the Peshawar High Court had taken the initiative in Nov 2019 of establishing virtual courts and had planned to extend the facility to the merged tribal districts.

Besides the efficient and effective use of technology in the times of pandemic, other issues were also discussed during the meeting, including the implementation of the standard operating procedures to combat pandemic in courts and hurdles to logistics support.

Mr Wajihuddin called for a mechanism to take all stakeholders on board to mitigate the effects of the pandemic and prevent delays in the dispensation of justice.

The forum was informed about the precautionary measures being adopted by the high court to stem the spread of Covid-19.

The participants also discussed the formulation of a strategy to produce prisoners and witnesses in the courts.

The PHC registrar informed participants about the mechanism adopted by the high court for production of prisoners and witnesses during lockdown.

The forum resolved to come up with uniform strategies, guidelines and SOPs for courts and case management during pandemic and develop an emergency response to cope with such situations in the long run.

Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2020