In view of the restriction on the movement of public in view of the coronavirus threat, Gauhati High Court on Tuesday decided to restrict hearing of all kinds of cases, except “extremely urgent matters”, till April 4.

In view of the Covid-19 outbreak and the lockdown announced by Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram, the functioning of Gauhati High Court, principal seat, as well as its outlying benches at Kohima, Aizawl and Itanagar and all district courts working under the jurisdiction of Gauhati High Court in the four states shall remain restricted from March 25 to April 4.

A notification on Tuesday by the high court registrar said: “The functioning of Gauhati High Court, principal seat, as well as its benches at Kohima, Aizawl and Itanagar and all district courts under its jurisdiction in the four states, shall remain restricted from March 25 till April 4.”

It added that only the cases involving extreme urgency involving liberty would be taken up. “In case, any matter involving extreme urgency is required to be filed in the principal seat at Guwahati or in any of the outlying benches, the same may be filed between 10am and 1pm on court working days,” it said.

“The matters which are already fixed for listing and hearing in the principal seat as well as outlying benches up to April 4 shall stand deferred, unless extreme urgency is shown for immediate hearing of the matter.”

Earlier, in view of restriction of public gatherings owing to the coronavirus, the high court had decided to restrict the court’s functioning only to urgent matters.