The Karnataka High Court and all the courts in districts and taluks across the State will take up only urgent cases for hearing from March 16 to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by avoiding gathering of litigants, lawyers, visitors, and court staff in large numbers on the court premises.
“Having regard to the safety of all the litigants, lawyers, visitors to the court premises and the court staff, and with a view to assisting the efforts made by both the Central and the State Governments to prevent spread of COVID-19, the Chief Justice has issued several directions,” it has been stated in the communications published on High Court’s website on Sunday.
Though the cause lists would be issued as usual and sittings of courts will commence regularly at 10.30 a.m., only those cases on the cause list, which are stated to be urgent by the members of the Bar or the parties-in-person would be taken up at the discretion of the court, it has been stated in the communication.
The non-urgent cases, in the High Court and the courts in districts and taluks, would be taken up provided, all the contesting parties on both the sides consent for taking up the matters, and in other cases the dates would be assigned as per the discretion of the concerned courts.
In the courts in districts and taluks, the recording of evidence of witnesses shall be postponed except in exceptional cases. However, videoconferencing can be resorted to for this purposes, it has been stated in the communication.
In the High Court, visitors (except members of the Bar) will be subjected to thermal screening by officials of the State Health Department from March 17, and the staff would be subjected to thermal screening in High Court’s offices.
Both the members of the Bar and the staff have been advised to follow the advisory issued by the Health authorities. Meanwhile, the court staff who are showing the symptoms, as disclosed in the advisory have been asked to immediately consult the Health Department officials, and in emergent cases, contact Arogya Sahayavani through phone – 104. The communication also made it clear that no functions of the legal services authority or the courts should be conducted with a large number of gathering, and new court buildings should be occupied without formal functions, which could be held later if necessary.