COVID Spread: Orissa High Court Shuts Down For 8 Days

Cuttack: With an upsurge in COVID cases in Cuttack city and some staff getting infected with Coronavirus, the Orissa High Court and its offices will be completely closed from May 20 to 27.

However, appeals can be made to registrar (judicial) for hearing of 'extremely urgent' cases during the shutdown period, an official order issued by the High Court mentioned.

As per the order, offices of the High Court will resume functioning on May 28, 2021 as per the vacation roster.

Accordingly, the earlier notified dates of the Vacation Benches will stand cancelled and instead, the Vacation Benches as notified, will function on May 31, June 2 and June 4 during the remaining period of the Summer Vacation, read the order.

The High Court further stated, “For the listing of urgent cases during the High Court shutdown, mentioning can be made only on the preceding working day before the Registrar (Judicial) and the Deputy Registrar (Judicial) as per the existing arrangement. During the period from May 20 to 27, only extremely urgent matters that cannot wait till May 31 for listing may be mentioned before the Registrar (Judicial) through email id:- ohc.mentionmemoskornail.com between 11 AM and 12 noon, by furnishing in advance by email a statement explaining the extreme urgency.”

Further, the advocates have also been requested by the court to avoid mentioning routine matters during this period.

In view of the extension of lockdown by the Government of Odisha in the entire State until 5 A.M. of June 1, 2021, the arrangements made earlier for functioning of High Court will continue from May 28 till June 1, 2021.