Number of Corona Virus Patients have crossed 100 in India with atleast 2 Deaths. Various measures have been taken including cancellation of any kind of public gathering. Schools,Colleges and Cinema Halls have been closed. Conferences and even Cricket Matches too have been cancelled. 

One such place where Public throngs in scores is our 3500 Court Complexes. India has around Three Crore cases pending at different levels of Judiciary. Situation in District Courts is quite worrisome as one can see huge crowd in small cramped Court Houses.

A Lawyer in Kolkata has written to the High Court that given the shabby preparedness, Court Complexs are ticking Time Bomb waiting to explode. Unless stringent measures are taken to prevent Litigants from coming to Courts nothing can stop them from getting infected if any person with COVID visits Courts.

Coordination committee of all District Courts Bar Association in Delhi has resolved that due to COVID-19 there shall be 'No Work' in all Dist.Courts except urgent work from Monday, 16/03/20 onwards. This has been shared with Latest Laws by Sh.Mahavir Sharma, Chairman & Sh.Dhir Singh Kasana, Secretary General of the Coordination committee of All District Courts Bar Associations.

On its part Supreme Court and Delhi High Court too has resolved to hear only urgent matters. Steps have been taken to screen the visitors to the Courts.

The Supreme Court on Sunday decided to suspended the largely popular guided tours of the apex court complex and closed its museum for visitors till further orders in view of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

In a fresh circular, the top court issued several precautionary measures based on the Centre’s advisory cautioning against mass gatherings to avoid the spread of COVID-19.

Bar Council of Delhi has also issued Advisory on its part. Read Text here-

RESOLUTION DATED 15.03.2020 REGARDING CORONA EPIDEMIC
    
In the wake of spread of Corona Virus (2019-n.COV) the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi has issued circular specifying restrictions and other measures to be followed in the High Court. However, in the case of District Courts, an advisory has been issued. Unlike High Court, the number of litigants and general public, apart from lawyers and their staff daily visiting District Courts is much larger in numbers i.e. hundreds of litigants and advocates in one Court itself and there are more than three hundred Courts in one District Court i.e. Tis Hazari Court.  In other Courts also, the situation is the same. 
The Bar Council of Delhi, visualizing the need for more protective and precautionary measures in the District Courts upto 31.03.2020, has resolved as under :
1.    Infact, in Delhi, all District Courts are of so much crowded and the risk for infection of Corona Virus COVID-19 are more prone as compared to High Court and Supreme Court.  Since the High Court of Delhi in its minutes of meeting of the Administrative and General Supervision Committee held on 13.03.2020 at 5.45 P.M. in the larger chamber of Hon’ble Chief Justice to discuss the efforts to be made by Court Administration and members of the Bar to restrain the spread of pandemic of Corona Virus (2019-N), but the functioning of District Courts was not limited to urgent matters as same is in High Court of Delhi. 
2.     In District Courts, the functioning of the Courts from16.03.2020 should be restricted to urgent matters only and the remaining routine matters should be adjourned and accommodated for an early date. In such matters, the date can be notified by all possible modes and the advocates for the parties may be informed so that the litigants do not turn up in the Courts except in cases, where the appearance is indispensable.
3.    The undertrials from the jails need not be brought to the Courts either for remand or any other purpose, which can be undertaken with the help of video conferencing in criminal cases. Only time bound cases or matters of urgent nature may be taken up, remaining may be adjourned and their presence may be recorded through the advocates appearing for the accused person.
4.    The sanitizers should be placed in each entry gates of Court premises and nobody should enter the main building of the court without first cleaning their hands with the sanitizer. Parties or public witnesses seeking adjournment need not come to the Court, but they can seek adjournment through their advocate.
5.    It is highly urgent to see the critical situation of Corona Virus (2019-N) the Delhi Government and the other State Governments have already issue directions for immediate closure of cinema halls, malls, schools, colleges etc. till 31.03.2020 as we all know that the Courts are very much crowded and the Virus can spread over voluminously and it is necessary to safeguard the Judges, Lawyers, Litigants from the dangerous virus.
Vishnu Sharma
Hony. Secretary

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