Staff Reporter :
Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain on Sunday formed four Supreme Court benches, one in Appellate Division and three in High Court Division, to hold virtual hearings and disposing of urgent cases during the ongoing closure due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Justice Md Nuruzzaman will sit in the chamber court of the Appellate Division to deal the very emergency matters during the vacation period, said a notification issued by Md Badrul Alam Bhuiyan, Registrar of the Appellate Division of the Surpeme Court.
The three high court benches will be run by three judges, Justice Obaidul Hassan, Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim and Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar, according to Supreme Court sources.
Earlier in the day, the Chief Justice decided to constitute the benches during a full court meeting with the judges of Supreme Court’s appellate and high court divisions via video conference.
The Chief Justice also planned on issuing necessary directives for the lower courts across the country for holding trial proceedings of urgent cases using digital media.
The Chief Justice will issue necessary directives in line with the ordinance issued by President Md Abdul Hamid on Saturday allowing the virtual court functions, according to the sources.
Regular activities of all courts across the country including the Appellate and High Court divisions of the country have been suspended since March 26 to contain the spread of coronavirus.
Several lawyers have also requested the Chief Justice to allow virtual court functioning during the ongoing closure.
Subsequently, the Cabinet on May 7 approved an ordinance allowing courts to hold trials digitally using the information technology.
