Appropriate to extend protections granted by Court: Orissa High Court extends life of interim orders until January 15, 2021

The Orissa High Court on Wednesday decided to extend the life of all the interim orders issued prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent closure of courts until January 15, 2021. (B.K. Ragada v. State of Odisha).By the latest order, interim orders passed by Courts in the State now stand extended until January 15, 2021. To this end, the application of a May 5 order has been extended by the Court. ."...it is deemed appropriate to extend the protections granted by this Court vide aforesaid order dated 05.05.2020... and accordingly the same are extended up to 15th January, 2021."Orissa High Court.A Bench of Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq and Justice Biswanath Rath was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition filed by lawyer Bijay Kumar Ragada..On May 5, acting on the same matter, the High Court had issued orders extending the life of all its interim orders in the wake of the spread of COVID-19. The Court subsequently extended it on four occasions, the last being on October 15. The October 15 Order was to remain in effect till November 25..On Wednesday, the Chief Justice-led Bench took into consideration the prevailing situation arising from the pandemic and proceeded to extend the interim orders given by the High Court or subordinate courts till January 15..However, the latest directions will not apply to matters where modification has been made following individual interim applications filed by intervenors, which will be considered on December 9. .The Order dated May 5 was issued to ensure that the litigants and citizens did not suffer on account of their inability to approach the court of law due to the lockdown..On May 5, the Court had said:."On the face of the crisis, we are sincerely concerned with the plight of the citizens and the litigants, majority of whom in our State are poor. They are not in a position to come to the Court in such a situation to seek legal remedies. We also do not want rush of litigants in the Courts in contravention of the “Social Distancing” discipline.".Read the latest order: