[Covid-19] Online Hearings to continue at Kerala High Court for one month or until TPR reaches 10%

The Kerala High Court has decided to continue hearing cases online in view of the relatively unabated surge of Covid-19 cases in the State..A notice to that regard was issued today by the Registrar General of the High Court which stated that the arrangements made by the Court last month in view of the pandemic will continue for a month or until the Test Positivity Rate drops below 10 percent, whichever is earlier."It is hereby informed that arrangements with regard to the hearing of cases in the High Court, made in view of surge in Covid-19 cases in the State, vide notice cited, will continue for the next one month or till Test Positivity Rate (TPR) of Covid-19 pandemic goes down to 10 %, whichever is eariier", the notice states.. The TPR in the State is currently just over 16%..On January 17, 2022, the Court had issued a set of directions as it had decided to revert to full physical hearings. Those directions will now continue until a fresh notification is issued. The directions are:Sitting of all Benches in the High Court will be through video conference. However, in exceptional cases, the concerned judge may decide if any particular case is to be heard in physical mode;Filing of cases in the High Court will continue as per the modified instructions issued by the High Court;Entry of Advocates' Clerks shall be limited for filing purposes only;Entry of the public to the High Court shall be restricted;Separate box will be placed in the Atrium of the High Court for dropping the physical case files for filing;Physical presence of court staff and officers in the High Court will be regulated..While the Kerala High Court's decision in January was in line with those made by several other High Courts across the country, its current notification comes at a time when several of those same courts have reverted to physical or hybrid hearings. Since February 14, the Supreme Court has been hearing cases physically on non-miscellaneous days.The Bombay High Court has also reverted to physical hearings this week.The Delhi High Court and District Courts in the national capital will revert to full physical hearings from March 2, 2022 after which hearings through virtual mode/ video conference will be permitted only in exceptional circumstances on a case-to-case basis..[Read Notice]