Over 17,000 lawyers in Bengal and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands will not attend any court at least till March 21 in view of the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country.

The executive body of the state bar council held an emergency meeting here on Monday and decided to abstain from hearings at Calcutta High Court and over 200 subordinate courts as a “precautionary measure”.

The decision was taken a day after the high court administration had issued a notice restricting its and other courts’ regular functioning.

The administration had decided that the court would only hear “urgent matters”. Following the Bar Council's decision on Monday, the entire judicial system in Bengal stands paralysed and the possibility of hearing urgent cases would virtually be non-existent.

“Since the high court administration declared the situation would be reviewed on March 20, council members will decide its future course of action during a meeting at 4.30pm on the same day,” said Prasun Gupta, an executive committee member of the Bar.

Chief Justice T.B.N. Radhakrishnan had set up a three-judge committee to monitor the situation and take action.