The Madras High Court has decided to postpone the summer vacation due in May and continue to hear cases through video conferencing until the threat of COVID-19 subsides. The decision was taken in a Full Court (all judges) meeting held on Thursday.
According to court officials, the meeting led by Chief Justice Amreshwar Pratap Sahi recognised the fact that new cases of COVID-19 were on the rise in the State day after day and therefore it would be advisable to hear cases only through virtual courts.
However, unlike the present arrangement of having assigned only seven judges to hear extremely urgent cases alone through video conferencing from their residences, the Full Court decided that the number of judges could be increased considerably in May.
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Since March 24, the High Court had restricted not only its functioning but also that of the subordinate courts in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and decided to hear extremely urgent cases alone after permitting filing of cases papers through e-mail.
Subsequently, a decision was taken to close down all court halls in the Madras High Court buildings and the portfolio judges concerned were requested to hear the extremely urgent cases through video conferencing alone from their residences.
Now, a decision has been taken to extend this arrangement in the month of May too after assigning more number of judges to hear the cases.
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