COVID-19: This High Court won’t resume normal functioning in August

The Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) won’t resume normal functioning of its courts in August either, in view of Covid-19 situation. The HC on Friday decided to defer case hearings listed for August, to November and December.

The HC is working in a restricted manner since March and only ‘urgent’ cases are being taken up through video conferencing. Nearly 30-odd judges are taking up cases in single as well as division benches.

An official said that the decision in this regard was taken by the administrative committee in view of the prevailing Covid-19 situation in both the states and Chandigarh.

The official said that the cases listed after March 24 will be taken up on the dates fixed in the month of August, while other pending cases will be adjourned to November and December. In case of urgency, the petitioner can file an application for early hearing in pending cases, the official said.

Listing of fresh ‘urgent cases’, such as bail matters, is being allowed without prior permission. However, there are some categories of fresh cases, such as appeals against single judge orders, where a request has to be made for listing of the cases. The trial courts too are working in a restricted manner.

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