Jamshedpur, April 10: Advocates of Jamshedpur are a harried lot these days, thanks to their erratic working hours in summer.

Apart from spending five hours beginning from 7 am at the district civil courts, they have to work six hours from 12 noon at other courts like the Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum, Sub Divisional Officer Court, District Labour Court, Certificate Office Court and other courts of the central government like the court of divisional forest officer.

The new five-day week plan states that a minimum of 40 hours of work per week must be ensured. The East Singhbhum district administration along with other districts has been functioning from 10 am to 6 pm every week except on weekends.

Former additional district and session judge, Dinesh Chandra Shukla, who also practices in the district civil court, said that advocates have to work nearly 11 hours in the scorching heat every day.

“The district administration should revise its daylong office hours keeping the sweltering heat in mind. The working hours of different courts at old court premises could be started at least at 12 noon,” Shukla said.

Lawyer Shiv Shankar Prasad, who works in the District Consumer Redressal Forum, district civil court and other courts of the district administration, has to be on his toes, too. “If I do not appear on behalf of clients, the court may issue an arrest warrant against them,” Prasad said, adding lawyers have to work during the hottest part of the day (between noon and 3 pm) shuttling between different courts in Sakchi.

Om Prakash Tiwary, another advocate, said the state government should set up various courts including the civil court at one particular place. “At present, the various courts are spread out all over the city. The civil court is situated a kilometre away from the old court, so lawyers have to travel back and forth,” he said.

Deputy commissioner Nitin Madan Kulkarni had already pointed out that the government offices have to remain open for eight hours on normal working days.

Unless the government issues a fresh notice regarding the re-scheduling of office hours, the district administration will not able to change it.

So far the district administration has not issued any directive related to change of office hours from the personnel, administrative reforms and official language department of the state government.