Only take up urgent cases via video conferencing: Delhi HC to district courts amid Covid-19 surge

By LE Desk

New Delhi, April 20: In view of the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in the national capital, the Delhi high court has directed that all judicial officers at district courts in the city must take up only the urgent cases of their respective courts and the proceedings must be held only through video conferencing.

The Delhi high court order dated April 19, signed by registrar general Manoj Jain, further ordered that all matters listed before the Delhi district courts be adjourned en bloc by the respective courts. The information in this regard shall be uploaded on the websites of the Delhi district courts, the order stated.

Delhi on Sunday recorded the biggest jump in its daily Covid-19 infection tally with 25,462 fresh cases, while the positivity rate shot up to 29.74% — meaning almost every third sample being tested in the city is turning out to be positive. The Arvind Kejriwal-led government has deployed two teams of officers to monitor procurement and supply of oxygen and the Remdesivir drug amid a shortage of both following an exponential rise in Covid-19 cases in the national capital.

The Delhi high court circular with regard to the functioning of the district courts comes a day after the high court issued a similar order on Sunday regarding its own functioning. All Delhi high court benches will only take up “extremely urgent matters” filed this year from April 19, the order stated, as reported by the Hindustan Times.

Earlier on April 8, the Delhi high court had decided that from April 9 to April 23 it will take up matters “through virtual mode only” in view of the rise in Covid-19 cases. A similar direction was issued to the district courts also on April 8. The circular issued on Sunday comes “in continuation” of the court’s office order dated April 8, 2021.

Notably, the functioning of the high court and district courts was restricted from March 25 last year, and no physical hearing was being conducted due to the spread of Covid-19. Partial physical hearings were resumed in September last year and complete physical hearings were restarted in March.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-news/only-take-up-urgent-cases-via-video-conferencing-delhi-hc-to-district-courts-101618809828768.html