The Kerala High Court has directed magistrates and special judges to allow the production of accused through electronic video linkage or appropriate electronic medium in view of many of those who were physically produced testing COVID-19 positive later.
The High Court has already directed State Police Chief Loknath Behera to ask the police personnel to produce the accused before the magistrates through electronic video linkages facility, even when they are being produced for the first time.
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In an order, the High Court Registrar (Subordinate Judiciary) P.G. Ajithkumar pointed out that incidents had been reported from several parts of the State that the accused presented before the courts have later tested positive for the disease. As result, the magistrates were forced to go into quarantine. Besides, the magistrates and court staff are becoming more and more vulnerable to the pandemic.
The Registrar made it clear that the police could be allowed to produce the accused through electronic linkages using desktop/laptop/mobile or any such electronic linkage as may be available.
Recently, as many as three magistrates and several police personnel have gone into quarantine in two districts after three remand prisoners had tested positive.
