In response to an increase in coronavirus cases in the state, the Gujarat High Court has restricted the entry of people into its premises and barred the entry of litigants while demanding those required to appear in person to carry a COVID-19 negative report. According to a circular issued by the HC’s registrar general on Monday, the curbs will go into effect on Wednesday.
According to the circular, the Chief Justice has also ordered for the closure of all the canteens located in the high court premises from Wednesday. Screening has been made mandatory for all those entering the court premises, with strict adherence to social distancing norm and cooperation with the medical screening team, it said.
“In the matter of habeas corpus petitions, the corpus shall be produced by the jurisdictional police authorities before the jurisdictional district court to enable the judges presiding the bench to interact in virtual mode with the persons so produced,” said the circular.
The HC has also requested that the president of the advocates’ association ensure that the bar library, reference library, and all bar rooms are closed by 1 p.m. every day, and that advocates not sit in large groups on any of the court premises.
Other precautionary measures, such as downloading the Aarogya App and avoiding handshakes, are also required, according to the circular, in addition to following the government advisory issued from time to time.
Gujarat reported 1,259 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, the most in nearly seven months, bringing the state’s total number of confirmed cases to 8,35,028. Ahmedabad city alone accounted for 631 of the new cases. After operating online for nearly a year due to the pandemic situation, the high court resumed physical hearings in August of last year.