Staff Reporter :
Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain has suspended all the functions of the lower courts and tribunals across the country which will continue till July 7 due to the arising situation of the coronavirus outbreak.
A magistrate will deal with urgent cases in every chief judicial magistrate or chief metropolitan magistrate court and one or more magistrates will deal cases in chief judicial magistrate or chief metropolitan magistrate courts of Dhaka,Chattogram and Rajshahi strictly following health safety guidelines during the strict lockdown period under the constitutional obligation.
Meanwhile, the chief justice has decided to operate the judicial proceedings of the courts including the Appellate and High Court Divisions of the Supreme Court on a limited scale for disposing of “very urgent” cases during the period.
The SC administration issued three separate notifications on Thursday to this effect.
Three High Court Division benches will deal in writ and civil, criminal and company related cases through only virtual process, said one of the notifications. A regular bench and chamber judge of the Appellate Division will also deal in the cases during the period on a limited scale, according to another notification.
A child involved in a conflict with the law may be produced before a magistrate in a physical presence at that time under a constitutional obligation, also read the notifications.
The cases and appeals filed under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, and some other laws which stipulate a time limit can be filed in physical presence within seven days of the opening of the court.
Judges and court officials of the lower courts have also been instructed not to leave their workplaces.
After a long gap all the courts across the country including the Appellate and High Court Divisions of the Supreme Court started their regular operations again from June 20 this year which brought a big relief to the justice-seeking people and the lawyers. But the authority becomes bound to close the courts again within a short time.
