COVID-19: Calcutta High Court to hold proceedings in virtual mode from April 16

Amid the surge in the COVID-19 cases in West Bengal, the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered that all court proceedings shall be in the virtual mode from April 16.

According to a notification issued by the Calcutta High Court, the court timings shall be from 10.30 am to 01.15 pm and from 2 pm to 3 pm.

"All Court proceedings shall be in the virtual mode only. It shall be the option of the Judge concerned if Court proceedings are to be done from the Court or from His Lordship's chamber," the notification read.

"All the District Judges in the State shall regulate the functioning of the courts on virtual or hybrid mode, regulating the attendance of the staff and the presence of the learned lawyers in such a way so as to take all precautions on account of increase in COVID cases," it added.

The order will apply to the Circuit Benches at Port Blair and Jalpaiguri also.

According to the Union Health Ministry, there are 26,531 active COVID-19 cases in West Bengal while the total cases have mounted to 5,82,462. The death toll due to infection now stands at 10,4141 in the state.

( With inputs from ANI )