A Letter petition was filed in the Allahabad High Court for non-reopening of courts from 8th May amid COVID-19, which the Allahabad High Court had agreed to hear today.
As the notice was issued on 4th May, 2020 which says: –
“The Hon’ble Court has decided to open the Courts at Allahabad as well as at Lucknow from 8th May, 2020 in two different shifts having different sessions for criminal as well as civil matters. The timing for each session shall be from 10.30 am to 12.30 pm and from 1.30 pm to 3.30 pm. While making the Courts operational all protocol pertaining to social distancing shall be maintained”.
A practicing advocate in Allahabad High Court had addressed the letter petition to the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court in which it was stated that it has been notified by the order of the High Court on 4th May, 2020 that the Courts at Allahabad and Lucknow are set to open from 8th May, 2020. Significantly, the Order of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India is still in force and in currency and as such has not been set aside, invalidated, modified or declared inapplicable or null and void by any authoritative pronouncement of the High Court and the order passed by Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, which is well-founded, based upon quantified data, stats, scientific, medical and risk assessment and owing to the unforeseeability of the loss or damage that may ensue to human life, health and safety and the insurmountable dangers involved, due to the lack of scientific certainty as to the probable hazard, prevails as a precautionary measure and principle.
“The aforesaid Order of the Union Government of India, supra, occupies the field and as such is a binding law on the matter and the same shall prevail. Thus, the administrative order of this Hon’ble Court providing for reopening of the Courts at Allahabad and Lucknow dt. 04/05/2020 is liable to be quashed and set aside, being repugnant to and hit by the aforesaid Order dt. 01/05/2020 of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India which is the binding and settled law occupying the field, on the instant matter(s) involved in this letter/PIL”, said the petition.
The advocate further mentioned in the letter petition that if the courts so open for physical presence, it is highly likely that the chances of COVID-19 transmission and spread shall increase manifold and the Advocates and the High Court staff members would be bound to overlook and slight the lockdown guidelines and preventive measures put in place. Further, it is not practically possible to take utmost care and precaution as against an invisible virus and there are bound to be lapses in our vigilance.
In addition to above, as is well known, we as Indians are very laid back people and as is clear from experience as observed during the lockdown at numerous places across the country, the social-distancing and precautionary rules and norms in all likelihood will be reduced to caricatures and bound to be flouted, thus endangering and putting to peril the lives, health and safety of countless persons across the city.
Therefore, it was prayed in the petition that instead of reopening the Court(s), thus allowing physical intermingling and chance of contracting and risking the spread of COVID-19, the Court may increase the strength of Benches sitting in Virtual Courts and until the lifting of the nation-wide lockdown and the normalization of the pandemic situation, the High Court of Allahabad may remain closed for physical presence and continue to function as per the E-Filing and Video Conferencing hearing modes, in the interests of justice, fair play and the society at large.
-India Legal Bureau