Mother Of An Employee At Alipore District Court Tests Covid Positive; Sitting Of Special Bench Deferred Until Further Orders [Read Notifications]

The District Judgeship at Alipore, Kolkata has postponed the sitting of a special bench that was scheduled today, after the mother of an employee tested positive for Corona virus.

The said employee is a driver who is engaged in transportation of the skeletal staff of District Judge's Court at Alipore and the Officers/ staff of the Calcutta High Court.

The District Judge in the South 24-Parganas district in Alipore intimated that the bench stands postponed until further orders.

"Upon consideration of the prevailing situation of the pandemic of COVID19 (Corona Virus), the WHO norms and ICMR Guidelines and the advisories issued by the Ministry of Health, Government of India and the State Government and the prevailing situation specified above at District Judge's Court, Alipore, it would be arduous for the Ld. Judge and staff concerned to conduct the Special Bench scheduled to be held on 29.04.2020 at Alipore. In the backdrop, the Special Bench scheduled to be held on 29.04.2020 at District Judge's Court, Alipore, South 24-Parganas is hereby postponed until further order. The extremely urgent matters fixed on 29.04.2020 shall be heard shortly in the forthcoming Special Benches and the same shall be intimated to all concerned," the order read.

In the interregnum, the Officers/ court staff who had been in direct/ indirect contact with the said driver have been asked to observe self quarantine till the test report(s) of the driver is received.

In related news, the Calcutta High Court has recalled the orders notifying Single and Division Benches for hearing of urgent matters in the month of May.

It has been intimated that the administrative order date April 28, whereby Division and Single benches for May 4, 7, 12 and 15 were notified, stands recalled. Further, there will be no court proceeding in the High Court tomorrow, i.e. April 30.

In order to address extremely urgent matters however, it has been clarified that two Division Benches (including one which will be presided by the Chief Justice) and one Single-Judge bench will be constituted from May 1. Sitting of these benches will be notified two days before the date of sitting of the Court.

All the cases filed so far and to be filed afterwards will be kept in a pool and will be allotted to the above benches, to a maximum of 40 matters on a day.