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CITYBar opposes Madras HC decision to forgo summer vacation
TNN | Apr 22, 2020, 11:24 IST
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Image used for representative purposeCHENNAI: The Madras high court’s decision to forgo its usual summer vacation and instead resume regular court work from May 1 to May 31, has not gone down well with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, which has requested the chief justice to reconsider the move.
“When normalcy has not been restored and the lockdown having been extended, the decision to function from May 1is not feasible, as the infection threat still subsists,” council chairman P S Amalraj said in a two-page communication to Chief Justice AP Sahi on Tuesday.
Pointing out that subordinate courts do not have facilities to conduct proceedings safely, Amalraj said: “When… recovery has not reached satisfactory levels, the bar council requests conduct of court proceedings only through video-conferencing and hear urgent matters only till Covid -19 pandemic is over.”
He also requested the high court to create video-conferencing facilities in all subordinate courts.
The council’s request comes two days after a junior assistant attached to government pleader’s office in the high court and a sub-inspector attached to Esplanade police station tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Referring to the notification dated April 18 issued by the high court announcing postponement of summer vacation and decision to commence regular hearing from May 1, the council said, “Already, on behalf of the Bar, we have expressed the practical difficulties in conducting cases in subordinate courts during this pandemic. When normalcy has not been restored and the lockdown being extended, functioning from May 1 is not feasible. The coronavirus scare on high court campus premises clearly shows the capacity of the pathogen to create panic and fear.”
