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Delhi HC directs 50% of trial court staff to work from home this month

Citing prevailing weather conditions, the Delhi High Court has ordered trial courts to function at 50% capacity in December, with judges and staff attending physically on alternate days.

2 min readUpdated: Dec 20, 2025 09:17 AM IST

Judges and staff will attend court physically on alternate days, with others working from home.

The Delhi High Court has instructed trial courts to function at 50% capacity during December due to weather conditions.

Directing trial courts to operate at 50% of their capacity throughout December, the Delhi High Court has instructed trial court judges and court staff to come to work physically every alternate day.

“In view of the prevailing weather conditions, the hon’ble Chief Justice has been pleased to direct that such number of gazetted and non-gazetted staff, including contractual staff, working on the establishment of this court be permitted to work from home as may be possible without affecting the smooth working of the courts,” the order dated December 16 read.

“…respective registrars /OSDs shall prepare a roster for December on alternate day basis, ensuring that at least 50% of the staff shall daily attend the court in person,” it added.

“Those officers/officials, who are not attending once in person, shall work from home and shall be available on telephone and through electronic means of communications at all times,” said the order, adding that preference should be given to women staff and to those who have medical issues while allocating work from home duties.

After similar instructions were issued to principal district and sessions judges, an order was issued that named judicial officers along with the dates when they will have to hold hearings physically in court.

Nirbhay Thakur

Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023. Professional Background Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University. Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories. Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts. Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials. Recent notable articles In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories. 1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey. 2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation. 3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police. Signature Style Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public. X (Twitter): @Nirbhaya99 ... Read More