The Bombay High Court on Friday issued a circular to parties concerned including litigants and lawyers in wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The circular asked people to avoid visiting the court premises unless necessary.
The circular said, “All the litigants, public and advocates in the state of Maharashtra are hereby informed that they should avoid visiting the court complexes unless necessary. They shall also adhere to the guidelines issued by the Health Ministry (appended herewith) while they visit the High Court. This notice is being issued as and by way of precautionary measure in view of Covid-19.”
The circular was signed by SB Agrawal, Registrar General Bombay High Court. Prior to the circular, the Bombay Bar Association had issued a notice on Thursday requesting the court to mandate a precaution.
The acting chief justice Bhushan P Dharmadhikari also exempted the court staff across Mumbai and the Nagpur and Aurangabad benches from marking their attendance on biometric system. The employees have to now sign regular muster for attendance from March 16.
On Friday, Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority postponed a prearranged regional conference on mediation. The conference was scheduled for this Saturday at Aurangabad. It has now been postponed because of the coronavirus threat.
With two more persons testing positive for coronavirus in Maharashtra, the number of infected individuals in the state has gone up to 19, state Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Saturday. The two new cases were reported from Mumbai and Ahmednagar, he said.
The state government had on Friday ordered closure of cinema theatres, gymnasiums, swimming pools and public parks in cities of Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad till March 30.
Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/bombay-hc-asks-lawyers-people-avoid-coming-to-court-1655426-2020-03-14
