Coronavirus: Karnataka HC to only hear urgent matters till further orders
Following the Supreme Court and various other High Courts, it has been intimated that the Karnataka High Court as well as trial Courts in the Karnataka would only take up urgent matters for hearing until further orders in the wake of the widespread Corona Virus outbreak.
The memorandum issued in this regard reads,
"The High Court of Karnataka in its principal seat at Bengaluru and Benches at Dharwad and Kalaburgi will take up only urgent matters..... Cause lists will be displayed as usual and the Courts will hold sitting at 10:30 am. Only those matters on the cause list, which are stated to be urgent by the members of the Bar or parties-in-person will be taken up at the discretion of the the Court."Memorandum
It further states that other matters would be taken up, provided that all contesting parties on both the sides consent to the same. As far as the remaining matters are concerned, dates would be assigned as per the discretion of the Court, the memorandum states.
The memorandum further states that starting from March 17, 2020, a thermal screening would be conducted for Court visitors by the Health Department of the State.
The memorandum also urges those advocates showing any/all symptoms of the Coronavirus to immediately consult the Government Health Department and in urgent cases, the Arogya Sahayavani (on the phone number, 104). Further, a general advisory in public interest was also issued along with the memorandum.
This apart, a similar memorandum restricting Trial Courts to take up only urgent matters has also been issued.
Speaking to Bar & Bench, A P Ranganatha, President of the Advocates Association of Bengaluru (AAB) stated,
"If the situation gets worse, we will request to shut down the Trial Courts in tomorrow's meeting."
Two days ago, the Supreme Court issued a notification stating that it shall hear only urgent matters for a week from March 16 in view of the Corona virus attack.
[Read the Notification here]