[COVID-19] Bombay High Court extends life of interim orders till May 9, failure to pay rent will not make tenant liable for eviction

The Bombay High Court on Friday directed that interim orders passed by itself as well as subordinate courts and tribunals that fall under its jurisdiction shall stand extended till May 7 (Court on its own motion - Suo-Motu PIL 1 of 2021)..It further directed that orders pertaining to eviction, demolition or dispossession passed by any lower courts or authorities after April 9 will be kept in abeyance till May 7..The Full Bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Dutta and Justices AA Sayed, SS Shinde and PB Varale passed the order today in a suo motu writ petition on the extension of protection to those who are unable to access justice because of the restricted functioning of the courts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.."Since the prevailing situation in Maharashtra is alarming with exponential rise in active cases and to protect the interest of all those who have been or are disabled to access justice, the Chief Justice considered it necessary and appropriate to initiate this suo motu litigation in public interest and to constitute this Special Bench for making appropriate orders considering the plight of the justice seekers," the order said. .The plea pertained to matters in which interim orders were passed by the High Court and all subordinate courts falling within its jurisdiction in Maharashtra, Goa and Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu..The order stated that the administrative committee on Friday decided to regulate judicial proceedings of all benches and the courts/tribunals subordinate to the High Court of Bombay by imposing appropriate restrictions. .In exercise of its inherent powers under Article 226 of the Constitution, the Bench proceeded to pass the following directions:In all matters wherein interim orders were passed by the High Court and subordinate courts as on April 9, 2021 as well as those which are likely to expire within April 19, 2021 or soon thereafter, such orders shall unconditionally stand extended till May 7, 2021 or until further orders of this Bench, unless specific orders otherwise. Conditional orders of the courts/tribunals/authority allowing occupation of any premises subject to payment of rent or occupation charges will continue notwithstanding deposit of the payments. Similarly, failure to pay rent or occupation charges will not make the tenant or occupant liable for eviction till May 7, 2021 or until further orders. All conditional orders will continue to remain in operation till May 7, 2021 or until further orders. Even orders or decrees for eviction/ dispossession/demolition subsequent to April 9, 2021 shall remain in abeyance till May 7, 2021 unless directed otherwise. It was also suggested that removing encroachers without notice should not be resorted to..The Bench noted that to combat "the second wave of the pandemic arising out of COVID virus", the Maharashtra government issued an order dated April 13 titled "Break the Chain", though which restrictions under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) were imposed in the State from April 14 to May 1..The Court observed that the measures in the order "have rendered it difficult to conduct judicial proceedings in this Court as well as the courts/tribunals in the districts/talukas in the physical presence of advocates, litigants and other stakeholders, and with the full complement of officers/staff and as an obvious consequence, access to justice has been hindered.".The administrative committee of the High Court earlier suspended judicial proceedings of the High Court and the lower courts till April 18, 2021..[Read Order]