Calcutta HC proceedings for Thursday cancelled after driver's mother tests COVID-19 positive

Kolkata, Apr 30 () The proceedings of the CalcuttaHigh Court scheduled for Thursday were cancelled citing"unavoidable exigencies", a day after the South 24 Parganasdistrict court postponed its hearings indefinitely after themother of a driver transporting court staff tested positivefor novel coronavirus.

A notification by the high court registrar generalalso recalled the sitting of division and single benches onMay 4, 7, 12 and 15.

The official vehicle's driver, whose mother has testedpositive for COVID-19 and is being treated at a privatehospital here, was engaged in transporting the skeletal staffof the District Judge's Court in Alipore and some staff of theCalcutta High Court, the South 24 Parganas district judgenoted in the order postponing the hearings.

In view of the lockdown imposed to contain thecoronavirus outbreak, the Calcutta High Court has been hearingurgent matters only through video conference to avoid crowdingin courtrooms and the premises.

Citing "unavoidable exigencies", the high courtadministration said that the Chief Justice has ordered thatthere will be no court proceedings on April 30.

It said that from May 1, apart from the division benchto be presided over by the Chief Justice, there will be twodivision benches and one single bench for taking up extremelyurgent matters on such dates as may be notified.

Registrar General Rai Chattopadhyay said that thesitting of the division benches and single bench will benotified two days before the date of sitting of the court.

The hearing of cases by a special bench scheduled onWednesday at the South 24 Parganas district court waspostponed indefinitely after the driver's mother testedpositive for COVID-19, an order by the district judge said.

The driver was also engaged in transporting some ofthe staff of the Calcutta High Court, a senior official said.

"The matter has been placed before Chief Justice T B NRadhakrishnan," the high court official said.

The officers, staff and others who had been in director indirect contact with the driver of the vehicle have beenasked to go on quarantine till his test report is received,the order by the district judge of South 24 Parganas, UdayKumar, said. AMRACD ACD