Himachal Pradesh High Court to hear only urgent matters till March 31 amid COVID -19 pandemic

The Himachal Pradesh High Court Bar Association on Monday declared that only urgent matters should be listed before the courts till March 31 in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

"The general house has decided that only urgent matters may be listed before the courts and no regular and hearing matters shall be listed till March 31," the Bar Association said in a letter to the Registrar of the High Court.

"It has also been decided that the courts shall not pass any adverse orders in the absence of any of the concerned advocates. It has also been resolved that only those advocates whose urgent matters are listed will be attending the courts during this period," the association added.

A total of 114 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed across India, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Two people have so far died of the infection in the country so far.

The virus had first emerged in China's Wuhan city in December last year.