Jamshedpur Civil Court at Sitaramdera will remain closed for 12 days from Monday, July 27, the District Bar Association has decided in view of the spike in Covid-19 cases in East Singhbhum.

The association wrote to the registrar general of Jharkhand High Court on Saturday, requesting him to suspend court work from July 27 to August 7.

“Covid-19 positive cases are spreading rapidly in Jamshedpur. Two women police constables posted at Gate No.1 and one policeman of the Special Task Force (STF) posted at the civil court premises have been found to be Corona positive," said the letter, jointly signed by the president and general secretary of the association.

Association general secretary Anil Tiwary said the decision was taken to ensure the safety of judicial officers, advocates, clerks, other court staff and litigants. "This will help in breaking the coronavirus chain," he said.

The District Bar Association had also put up a notice on the court premises on Saturday, saying that its executive body, on the request of general members, abstained from court work from July 27 till August 7.

The notice also stated that all members of the District Bar Association would abstain from both physical court work and virtual proceedings for 12 days from July 27.

Sources in Jamshedpur Civil Court revealed that there was panic on the premises earlier this week following the death of a stenographer (Gajender Singh) whose test reports suggested that he was Covid positive.

So far, 19 Covid deaths have taken place in East Singhbhum while the number of positive cases has crossed 1,260.