Coronavirus: SC cancels benches, only one court to hear urgent cases through video-conferencing

To ensure social distancing amid the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and lockdown in the national capital, the Supreme Court Sunday decided to restrict its functioning and hear the matters on Monday only in one court through video conference.

In a circular issued late Sunday evening, the top court cancelled the scheduled hearing in courts 2, 8 and 14 and said that from Wednesday only one bench of two judges will take up for hearing in only urgent matters through video conference.

As per the cause list uploaded by the apex court on its website, a bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justice D Y Chandrachud will be taking up three matters through video conference in which the advocates have been requested to address the court from a different room, while the judges will be sitting in court one.

Later in the day, the apex court issued a circular which said that the Chief Justice of India, after consulting his colleagues, has directed that during the course of the ensuing week, a bench of two judges, "as may be necessary to hear extremely urgent cases, will be available to transact judicial work."