Baby steps have to be taken to guard against any future COVID-19 surges: Madras High Court on reopening of courts

The Madras High Court on Tuesday had occasion to sound a note of caution that baby steps have to be taken when it comes to re-opening courts to guard against any possibility of another COVID-19 surge (SV Ramamurthy v. The Registrar General). .The order was passed by the Bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy on a plea raising grievance with respect to a notification issued by the High Court on March 6 pertaining to the conduct of matters in Court during the second COVID-19 surge, which also regulated the entry of lawyers to the Court.."The petition is useless and in any event has gone past its sell-by date," the Court remarked on the petition itself..The Bench added that the petitioner may have a view different from the notification and that since it is a free country, he is entitled to his opinion, which has to be respected. All the same, the Bench noted that the Court administration has taken other measures it felt necessary in public interest. .Upon the second COVID-19 surge subsiding, steps were also implemented in the courts of the State, particularly the High Court, to return to normal functioning, the Court pointed out. ."However baby steps have to be taken so that if there is another surge, the system is not caught napping," the Court proceeded to add, before disposing of the plea. .Latest directions issued on Court's functioning.At present, the Madras High Court is functioning mostly via video conference or hybrid mode, as per which only judges and law officers or standing counsel of Public Sector Undertakings are permitted to appear physically in the Court. All other parties and counsel are to appear remotely, through video conference..Madras High Court to discontinue physical hearings from March 8 after surge in COVID-19 cases .While acknowledging the decline in COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu, the Madras High Court had, on June 22, notified that it will continue hearing matters in this manner, i.e. mostly on the virtual mode, until July 4, 2021..Entry of advocates, advocate clerks, litigants and parties-in person inside the High Court premises remains prohibited as of now..From July 5 onwards, the Court will allow advocates to be physically present for appearing in final hearing cases. .However, the notification also limits the number of lawyers who can be present at a time within the courtroom. From July 5, certain relaxations to allow lawyers to visit chambers within the court premises on alternative days will also kick in. .The situation will be reviewed on July 15. A separate notification is to be issued with respect to the Madurai Bench of the Court, it was added. A notification has also been issued on the restricted functioning of subordinate courts in Tamil Nadu on June 22. .On a related note, the Court today extended the life of interim orders until July 15. .[Read Order]