Tripura High Court, in a notification issued late on Monday night, restricted its functioning to urgent matters only from Tuesday till April 5 in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19.

“..it is hereby notified that… only freshly instituted matters along with urgent cases, if any, shall be listed before the high court. However, if any party is desirous of listing his/her case before the court on the date so fixed, the same may be mentioned before the bench having the roster,” the notification read and added that the decision was taken in consultation with the judges of the high court.

“In order to prevent further spread of coronavirus, the high court, all district courts in the state, including family courts and tribunals, functioning under the supervision of the high court under Article 227 of the Constitution, effective from 17 March up to 5th April 2020, would be taking up only urgent cases. So far, as district courts are concerned, the nature of urgency would be judged by the concerned judicial officer-in-charge of the case in question,” it read.

It advised all advocates, their clients and the court staff not to attend the court if he/she was suffering from fever, cough and cold or was experiencing respiratory discomfort. It also said an effort would be made to post medical/para-medical staff at the entrance of the high court premises where they may be subjected to a medical examination as found necessary. A similar arrangement might be made at the district courts and family courts by the district judges by approaching the chief medical officer of the district, it added.