The closure of the Karnataka High Court and all other Courts in the State shall stand extended till April 14, 2020. This has been intimated in a notification issued hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a 21 day complete lockdown yesterday evening in order to contain the spread of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The notification states,
"The order of closure issued by the High Court of Karnataka with notification dated March 23 and March 24 2020 applicable to the High Court of Karnataka Principal bench, Bengaluru and Benches at the Dharwad and Kalaburgi and all District, and Trial Courts, Family Courts, Labor Courts, Industrial Tribunals in the state shall stand extended till April 14th 2020."
Karnataka High Court notification
It was further clarified that the previous notification issued in this regard which stated that the Karnataka High Court will remain closed from March 24 till April 6, in view of the Coronavirus pandemic stands cancelled.
It adds that all judicial officers and and Court staff members should not leave their respective headquarters.
[Read notification]
During the 21 day complete lockdown that commenced last midnight, offices of the Central and State governments will remain closed, it was informed.
However, the Government has clarified that a number of essential goods and services will be exempted from the lockdown, including defence services, the functioning of the police forces, fire and emergency services, disaster management, prisons, post offices etc.
Telecom, Internet, print and electronic media, petrol pumps, private security agencies also fall under the exceptions.
