Courts in locked-down Odisha districts to function for 1 hour

Bhubaneswar, Mar 23 (PTI) subordinate courts in districts and towns that have been put under lockdown in Odisha will be functioning for an hour on all working days till March 31, as per a circular issued on Monday.

courts will be hearing extremely urgent matters such as bail, production and remand, from 12 on to 1 pm, said circular issued by Orissa High Court registrar general.

Khurda, Cuttack, Ganjam, Kendrapara and Angul districts were placed under lockdown, besides towns of Puri, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Balasore, Jajpur, Jajpur Road and Bhadrak.

lockdown was imposed at 7 am on March 22 and will be in place till 9 pm on March 29. For avoiding garing in courts during hearings, only one advocate and a prosecutor will be allowed to remain present to represent parties concerned, circular said, adding that urgent office work can be done at home.

presiding officers of courts will decide deployment of staff required under intimation of district judge, it said.

Courts in districts that are t under lockdown will function from 11 am to 1 pm, only for hearing of urgent matters, it added.