A bench of the High Court of Madras comprising of Justice M.Sathyanaran and Justice Abdul Quddhose extended all interim orders until April 30 in view of the public announcement of the Government of India of complete lockdown in the entire nation to combat the spread of COVID-19 and given the restricted access to courts during this time.
The Court further observed that as lawyers and litigants are not in a position to conveniently appear in their matters, it has become difficult for the citizens to approach the courts of law to take recourse to legal remedies.
The bench while taking up the suo motu case said that the order was being passed to ensure that citizens are not deprived of the fruits of the interim orders granted by any court.
The bench therefore passed the following directions to ensure the smooth administration of justice and prevent any form of obstruction or miscarriage of justice
- All interim orders passed by the Madras High Court, Principal Bench that were subsisting as on 20th March, 2020 may stand extended till 30th April, 2020, unless vacated or modified earlier or until further orders of the Court, unless specifically dealt with by any judicial order to the contrary
- All orders of eviction, dispossession or demolition which have not been executed till date on the orders of the High Court, District Courts or the Civil Courts, the same shall remain in abeyance till 30th April, 2020 unless vacated or modified earlier by any judicial order passed by the appropriate forum by which it was issued.
- All orders passed by the Courts exercising criminal jurisdiction having granted bail, anticipatory bail or parole etc., for a limited period which are likely to expire on or before 30th April, 2020 shall stand extended till 30th April, 2020 subject to any orders passed by the said forums even before the said expiry date or thereafter to enable the respective courts to deal with any abuse of the orders of the concerned party
- These directions may be subject to any orders to the contrary having been passed by the Supreme Court of India in any particular matter.
- It can also be clarified that in case the extension of the interim orders causes undue hardship of any extreme nature to any of the parties to such proceedings or a matter of extreme urgency being indicated by the State or its authorities, they would be at liberty to seek appropriate relief as may be advised
- Such interim orders or directions which are not of a limited duration shall continue to operate and will remain unaffected.
- General encroachment drives, State revenue recovery measures, proceedings relating to demolition and eviction and other actions that are likely to give rise to an immediate litigation in the High Court may be kept temporarily in abeyance subject to any measures for which advise may be sought from the learned Advocate General.
-India Legal Bureau