Patna HC to hear only urgent, regular bail matters till March amid Coronavirus outbreak

In wake of the deadly Coronavirus outbreak across the country, the Patna High Court has decided to step up preventive measures. In doing so, the Patna High Court has decided to hear only the urgent and regular bail matters till March 31, moreover, all matters to be listed in between March 17 to March 31, shall now be listed on April 4.

A notice has been circulated in this regard which reads, "In the temporary supersession of all the previous notices regarding mentioning of urgent matters, the competent authority has been pleased to direct that till March 31, all urgent matters shall be orally mentioned before the Bench."

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It further reads, "In view of the Office Memorandum issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India on March 5, by way of an advisory cautioning against mass gathering and the World Health Organization having declared Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) as global pandemic advising against the mass congregation, also taking note of the decision of the Government of Bihar issued by the General Administration Department through a letter dated March 13, and on reviewing the present circumstance, the competent authority has been pleased to direct that the functioning of the High Court shall be restricted to only urgent matters."

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Coronavirus threat in the country

The country has recorded two deaths so far, while the number of Coronavirus cases in the country has risen to 110 on Sunday including 17 foreign nationals. A 76-year-old from Karnataka and a 68-year-old woman in Delhi who had tested positive for coronavirus died due to it. Maharashtra has recorded the maximum number of cases with 32 tested positive of the deadly virus, followed by Kerala reporting 22 cases. The silver lining amidst the outbreak is that the total number of patients treated of Coronavirus and discharged from hospital has also risen to 13, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

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