COVID-19 Surge: Uttarakhand High Court Issues Functioning Modalities WEF May 4, Subordinate Courts To Remain Closed From May 3

The Uttarakhand High Court on Saturday (May 1) issued the directions for the transaction of business in the Hon'ble High Court w.e.f. May 04 (Tuesday).  

The Directions have been issued in view of the imminent danger to human life by the spread of COVID-19 virus and alarming rise in the number of persons affected thereby, and also in view of the health guidelines issued by the Government of India and the State Government, for the safety of the litigants, advocates, officers and staff of the Hon'ble Court.

• Till further orders, only the following types of cases will be taken up by the High Court-

(A) Bail Applications, fresh or otherwise

(B) Fresh Criminal Appeals against convictions

(C) Fresh Criminal Revisions against orders confirming convictions

(D) Writ Petitions Criminal (WPCRL) fresh or otherwise, for a stay of arrest

(E) Writ Petitions (Habeas Corpus)

(F) Fresh Writ Petitions seeking relief against eviction ejectment, dispossessions from the property, or its demolition

(G) Fresh Writ Petitions seeking relief against attachment, auction or

any similar legal recourse affecting the property

(H) Fresh Writ Petition against any major penalty passed in departmental proceedings

(I) Special Appeals, where applicable, against the orders passed in aforesaid matters

(J) Caveat Applications

(K) Any other matter, not mentioned above, by specific or general orders of Hon'ble the Chief Justice.

• All fresh matters will be filed in their soft copies in PDF format, to the email address of the Institution Section of the Hon'ble Court.
• Pending matters will be listed only at the request of the advocates, which may be e-mailed to e-mail addresses of the concerned Judicial Sections. 
• All the matters shall be taken up exclusively through video conferencing. 
• All pending matters, except those, which were listed on or after 26.04.2021, will not be listed and will stand adjourned, notwithstanding dates fixed in such matters.

Further, the High Court has decided that all Subordinate Courts of the State shall continue to remain closed from May 3 till May 15, and May 16 being Sunday, will resume work on and from May 17 (Monday).

During the aforesaid period, when Courts are closed, work relating to remand and bail will only be done, as is done on holidays and where due to extreme urgency arising from any extraordinary circumstances and hearing of the matter can not wait till May 17, the Advocates concerned may request for hearing during the said period.

District Judge will decide as to if any matter requires an urgent hearing during the aforesaid period, and where he/she is of the opinion that the matter should be taken up during the aforesaid closure of the Courts, the matter shall be forwarded to the Jurisdictional Court and the matters shall be heard exclusively through Video Conferencing.

Places where facilities for video conferencing are not available or if they are available, video conferencing is not possible due to want of the necessary connections/ signals, as an exception, the hearing may be done by any of her mode of electronic communication, not requiring physical presence like conference calls, etc.

All the Subordinate Courts will take up work relating to remand, bail, and temporary injunctions from May 17 (Monday), exclusively through Video Conferencing.

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