Two judges of Kerala High Court have tested positive for COVID-19.

The High Court is currently having its summer vacation with only vacation bench hearing cases.

Before it closed for vacation, the High Court was following a combination of virtual and physical hearings and has not yet reverted to full virtual hearings despite second wave of COVID pandemic.

Last week, the Court had sought the views of the Kerala High Court Advocates Association (KHCAA) on whether or not lawyers are in support of virtual hearings.

By way of a letter dated April 16, 2021 written by Deputy Registrar to the Secretary of KHCAA, the Court asked the response of the association to be e-mailed to the High Court at the earliest.

"In connection with the introduction of "hybrid model" of hearing in the High Court of Kerala, which enables counsel to appear before court via video conferencing or by physical presence, it is requested to inform whether virtual hearings is supported by counsel or not," the letter said.

The sudden and exponential spike in COVID-19 cases has led to various High Courts across the country reverting to virtual hearing of cases, a few weeks after they had restarted physical functioning.

At least four Supreme Court judges have also tested positive for COVID-19 with one of them requiring hospitalisation.

The Supreme Court will be hearing only urgent cases from Thursday in view of the pandemic.