COVID-19 pandemic: PIL in HC to list cases on appointment basis

A PIL was moved in the Delhi High Court on Monday seeking direction to the Registrar General to take steps in scheduling court hearings through appointments or distributing the case list in time slots, to prevent overcrowding in the premises in view of coronavirus pandemic.

The plea said the normal functioning of courts in Delhi commences at 10 AM and litigants and lawyers often reach the court premises around this time, leading to crowding at various points, including gate pass windows, parking, entries to the court buildings and court rooms.

It said that the Registrar General of the high court be directed to mention a particular time for each matter listed in a court.

The petitioner, advocate Aarti Manchanda, said no fair reason is given as to why all litigants are required to report the court at 10 AM, when sometimes their matters reach at 12 PM or afterwards.

"The direction to all litigants to appear at 10 AM often creates crowding of persons in the court premises. Although, directions of deployment of temperature guns at entry points in court buildings has already been given, the same does not solve the problem of overcrowding in the court premises," the plea submitted, adding that the summons issued by the courts, including district courts, also require litigants to reach by 10 AM.

It said various government departments have appealed to people to avoid mass gatherings and maximise social distance in order to avoid overcrowding and administration of justice through the courts in India is unavoidable.

It sought court's direction to the Registrar General to arrange the cause list (list of cases) in a manner so as to avoid overcrowding of the court premises by dividing the list in time slots.

Giving an example, the plea claimed that the time slots can be given for listing of matters for miscellaneous purposes from 10-11 AM, matters on admission from 11-1 PM, final arguments from 2-4 PM.

The high court had on March 13, decided to hear only urgent matters from March 16 in the wake of coronavirus scare in the country and not insist on personal appearance of parties unless it is indispensable.

The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the high court's eight-judge Administrative and General Supervision Committee headed by Chief Justice D N Patel and the president and honorary secretary of the Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) "to contain the spread of pandemic coronavirus".

It was decided that all possible preventive and remedial measures be taken to combat the impending threat of COVID-19, including making sanitisers available in the courts for visitors and staff, "particularly those manning windows where there is constant public dealing".