The High Court of Karnataka has declared the closure of all the lower courts in the State from April 15th to April 30th2020. The courts including all the District Courts, Family Courts, Labour Courts and Industrial Tribunals in the State will remain closed till June 30th due to the prevailing lockdown in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak. The period will be treated as period of closure of the Courts according to Section 4 of the Limitation Act,1963, which talks about the expiry of the prescribed period when the Court is closed.
The provision states that where the prescribed period for any suit, appeal or application expires on a day when the court is closed, it may be instituted on the day when the court reopens. A Court is deemed to be closed if during any part of its normal working hours, it remains closed on that day.
According to the notification of the High Court, during the period of closure, new matters can be filed only by way of e-filing. In case of extreme urgency, a request can also be made for taking up a case which is already filed can be made through a mail.
When hearing of such urgent matter is permitted, the hearing will be conducted via video conferencing and necessary instructions will be issued to the Advocates and Parties-in-person.
The cases which have already been listed will however stand adjourned automatically, and the dates will be uploaded on the Court’s website.
The notification has also made note of the order of Supreme Court where suo motu cognizance was taken of the difficulties being faced by lawyers in the times of the outbreak and social distancing protocol in the Courts. The Apex Court had granted an extension of limitation period in all cases w.e.f. 15th March 2020, irrespective of the limitation prescribed under the general law or the special Laws.
-India Legal Bureau