Soni Satti
The Punjab and Haryana High Court extended the life of all interim orders/directions issued by the High Court and all lower courts in Punjab and Haryana until June 30, 2021.
After taking up the issue suo motu in light of the troubling surge in COVID-19 cases, a Bench of Chief Justice Ravi Shanker Jha and Justice Suvir Sehgal issued the order.
The Bench noted that litigants were unable to contact lawyers and that lawyers, in fact, were having difficulty preparing files and getting cases identified on a timely basis.
The Bench of Chief Justice Ravi Shanker Jha and Justice Suvir Sehgal also stated that up until June 30, the police must refrain from arresting the accused unless it was required to maintain law and order in a cognizable offence carrying a penalty of up to seven years in jail. The Bench gave a total of 12 commandments.
Interim orders or directives issued by the High Court or any subordinate court to act until further instructions were issued must remain in effect until changed, revised, or vacated by a particular order, according to the Bench.
Unless otherwise directed, the deadline for filing a written statement or “return” in any suit or case pending before any Civil Court or other forum has been extended until June 30. The parties will be free to file such a written statement or “return” before June 30 if they so desired.
Eviction, dispossession, and demolition orders that have yet to be carried out will now be placed on hold until June 30. Interim protection granted by the High Court or Court of Sessions in anticipatory bail cases for a limited duration was also extended until June 30, 2021.
Interim bails issued under Section 439 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which had an expiration date, were also extended, provided the accused did not abuse their liberty. A person’s parole was often extended if it had been issued by a court order.
The Court also said that the State governments, the Union Territory of Chandigarh, or any of its departments, local bodies, or other agencies and instrumentalities will not take action to evict or demolish any property over which an individual, a person, a group, or a corporation has physical or symbolic possession as of today until June 30, 2021.
Banks and financial institutions were also told not to take any decision on property auctions until June 30.
