Maharashtra: Bombay HC, principal benches to work only two days next week due to COVID-19

In wake of the growing Coronavirus pandemic, the Bombay High Court will function on two days next week and hear only urgent matters, it said on Thursday. The Bombay High Court's principal bench in Mumbai and regional benches at Aurangabad, Nagpur, and Goa shall take up urgent matters for hearing on March 23 and 26 (Monday and Thursday).

Registrar General SB Agarwal issued a circular stating that the registry department of the court would allow minimal staff to work during the next week. The court has been working for only two hours daily for the last week and is hearing only urgent matters, due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

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Supreme Court restricts its functioning

Considering the increasing number of Coronavirus cases in India, a senior official at the Supreme Court, on Wednesday, stated that the top court has decided to further limit its functioning by restricting the number of courts to four. 

The apex court had earlier decided to only hear urgent matters till March 31. The decision comes in line with the Apex Court's decision to introduce several precautionary measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The court had also allowed only selected lawyers, litigants, and journalists in the courtroom.

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On Tuesday, Chief Justice of India Sharad Arvind Bobde, along with three other judges visited the Supreme Court corridors and inspected the area to take stock of the situation inside the premise. Thermal-screening of the lawyers, litigants, and media persons is also being conducted since Monday. 

The Supreme Court is planning to introduce court proceedings via video conferencing to avoid the 'people to people' contact amid the Corona pandemic. Chief Justice of India S A Bobde on Sunday said that there cannot be a "complete shutdown" of courts due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

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