The Madras High Court has decided to withdraw from February 8 all restrictions and limitations imposed by it on the functioning of trial courts across the State and the Union Territory of Puducherry to contain the spread of COVID-19.
In an official memorandum issued on Monday, Registrar General C. Kumarappan said the Administrative Committee of the High Court had taken the decision after reviewing the prevailing situation of COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. “It is open to the Principal District Judges to decide on the mode and manner of functioning depending on the situation prevailing in their respective district or even in a particular taluk,” the memorandum, circulated to all judicial officers, read.
Annexing an SOP to the memorandum, the R-G said all PDJs in the State and the Chief Judge of Puducherry should ensure better functioning of subordinate courts without compromising the COVID-19 protocol.
With regard to permission for reopening of canteens, lawyers’ chambers and Bar association rooms were concerned, the High Court clarified that it would be considered only after three weeks from commencement of physical hearing in full capacity.
The SOP stated that those without masks would be denied entry into court campuses and that overcrowding was strictly prohibited. Washing hands with liquid soap at the entry points and undergoing thermal screening had also been made mandatory.
