[COVID-19] Bombay High Court further extends life of interim orders till August 13, 2021

The Bombay High Court on Monday extended the life of interim orders passed by itself as well as subordinate courts and tribunals that fall under its jurisdiction till August 13, 2021 (Court on its own motion - Suo-Motu PIL 1 of 2021)..It further directed that orders pertaining to eviction, demolition or dispossession passed by any lower courts or authorities after April 9 will be kept in abeyance as per the conditions of its previous order of April 16, 2021..The Full Bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Dutta and Justices AA Sayed, SS Shinde and PB Varale passed the order today in a suo motu writ petition on the extension of protection to those who are unable to access justice because of the restricted functioning of the courts effected by the COVID-19 pandemic.After briefing by the Central Task Force, a decision was taken at a meeting of the administrative committee held on July 1, 2021, to continue with virtual hearings at the Principal Bench, and also at the co-ordinate benches at Nagpur, Aurangabad and Goa..The Bench decided to keep the orders in abeyance till August 13, considering the fact that lockdown restrictions have not been eased in a way that makes access to justice easily available."The lockdown restrictions have not been eased to such an extent that access to justice is freely available. Due to prevailing facts and circumstances, the committee of this court has decided to function in a restricted manner till the next review meeting which will be held till end of July.".The Court stated that the interim order of April 16, 2021 has been extended till August 13, 2021 or till further orders, whichever is earlier in time.The Bench will next sit on August 9, 2021..The suo motu petition pertained to matters in which interim orders were passed by the High Court and all subordinate courts falling within its jurisdiction in Maharashtra, Goa and the Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu.The Full Bench had previously directed that interim orders passed by itself as well as subordinate courts and tribunals that fall under its jurisdiction shall stand extended June 30, 2021 which was further extended to July 9, 2021..[COVID-19] Bombay High Court extends life of interim orders on eviction, demolition, dispossession till July 9, 2021.The Bench had kept interim orders in abeyance owing to the second wave of COVID-19, after the Maharashtra government issued an order dated April 13 titled "Break the Chain", though which restrictions under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) were imposed in the State from April 14 to May 1.