Coronavirus: Delhi HC and district courts to work during summer vacation to make up for loss

The Delhi High Court, on Thursday, decided to function during the summer vacation in the month of June to make up for the loss of working hours due to the lockdown imposed to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision was taken by full court "in view of the severe hardship faced by the litigants due to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic that has impaired the functioning of the courts".

There is suspension of work at the moment due to the lockdown. The HC and Delhi district courts are only hearing matters of extremely urgent nature.

Besides the High Court, the district courts, working under its administrative control, would also function during the entire vacation month of June.

"This decision has been taken by the full court on April 9, 2020, to make up for the loss of court working hours and to ensure restoration of normalcy in the functioning of the courts at the earliest," a press statement said.

It said Chief Justice DN Patel and other judges were mindful of the difficulties faced by litigants on account of the lockdown and consequent suspended functioning of the Delhi High Court and subordinate courts.

“There is negligible fresh filing of cases, lesser disposal and corresponding escalation in arrears, resulting in extreme hardship to litigants," the resolution noted.

The full court modified the previous resolution of September 16, 2019, which had declared June 1 to 30 as the summer vacation.