Courts to reopen on Sept 8 -District courts to start criminal trials which had been stalled following the outbreak of Covid-19

TT | Calcutta | 02.09.20 : Calcutta High Court and 206 subordinate courts in Bengal are set to return to normal activities from September 8 after a gap of five months.

Rai Chattopadhyay, the registrar general of the high court, on Tuesday issued the notification announcing resumption of normal activities following Chief Justice T.B.N Radhakrishnan’s approval of the proposal by judges’ committee. The committee had been tasked to recommend to the high court administration the actions required in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The judges’ committee had said in a recent recommendation that since the Covid-19 situation had been improving gradually, the courts should slowly return to normal functioning. The three-page notification stated that as the situation was apparently improving, every effort should be made to increase judicial activities in district courts as well as the high court.

The notification states that the Chief Justice has directed the administration of district courts to start criminal trials which had been stalled following the outbreak of Covid-19

“In criminal trials, both the accused and the witnesses have to present themselves in the respective courts. But it had become impossible for the witnesses to present themselves before the courts. Even the jail authorities were not in position to produce the accused persons in the court. So, the system of criminal trials had been virtually stalled,” a senior officer of Calcutta High Court said.

Since the last week of March, only very urgent matters were being heard by the high court through video-conferencing. Very few cases have been heard in recent times in the presence of both judges and lawyers.

The notification, however, states that the Chief Justice has made it clear that overcrowding by people on court premises will not be allowed and norms set up by the government to combat the disease will be followed strictly.

“Entry of the litigants will have to be restricted. Till normal train services resume, chance of crowding in courts is less,” said a court officer.

Several lawyers have welcomed the decision by the high court administration. However, members of the High Court Bar Association said a large number of junior lawyers living outside the city would not be able to join the court till train services resumed.