Bombay High Court Stays Evictions, Dispossessions, Demolitions Till May 7; Extends Interim Orders Till Then

Given the surge in Covid – 19 cases in Maharashtra, the Bombay High Court at its principal seat in Mumbai will continue to hear cases virtually till May 7, it was decided at an Administrative Committee meeting chaired by Chief Justice Dipankar Datta, on Friday.

In a judicial order (SUO MOTU PIL NO. 1 OF 2021) passed subsequently a full bench of CJ and Justices AA Sayyed, SS Shinde and PB Varale has directed all interim orders of the Bombay High Court, subordinate courts and tribunals to be unconditionally extended till May 7, 2021, or until further orders, unless specifically dealt with by a judicial order to the contrary.

The affected parties would be at liberty to approach the court for vacating such orders.

"In a meeting of the Judges of the Administrative Committee of this Court held at 11.00 hours today, it has been resolved to regulate judicial proceedings of all the Benches and the courts/tribunals subordinate to the High Court of Bombay by imposing appropriate restrictions."

The order creates a buffer for tenants so that they are not immediately liable for eviction till May 7, in case of non-payment of rent, adding that conditional orders of any court/tribunal/authority allowing occupation of any premises subject to payment of rent or occupation charges will continue, notwithstanding the non-deposit of rent or occupation charges between April 9, 2021, and May 7, 2021.

The order specifies that it would be desirable that encroachers are not removed without notice till then.

The second wave of the pandemic, arising out of the COVID-19 virus, has been wreaking havoc just as the first wave did in the year that went by, the bench notes.

It adds that the Government of Maharashtra in the Department of Revenue and Forest, Disaster Management, Relief and Rehabilitation, in its order dated April 13, 2021, to "Break T he Chain" has imposed various emergency measures, like Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and night curfew from 8 pm –7 am till May 1, 2021.

Such measures, together with other restrictions imposed by the said order, have rendered it difficult to conduct judicial proceedings in this Court as well as the courts…As an obvious consequence, access to justice has been hindered.

In the Administrative Committee meeting, it was further decided that courts across the state will continue to take up only extremely urgent matters. While Division Benches at the Principal Seat will hear matters on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Single Judge Benches will sit on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The Subordinate Judiciary in Maharashtra and Goa, Union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu will function in only one shift of 2.5 hours and take up remand, bail and urgent criminal and civil matters, it was decided.

Separate circulars will be issued for the subordinate judiciary and the sitting list at the Bombay High Court.

This arrangement will be from April 19 to May 7. According to the Press Information Bureau, Maharashtra reported the highest daily new cases at 61,695, followed by Uttar Pradesh (22,339) & Delhi (16,699), in the last 24 hours.

The Bombay High Court began hearing matters through physical hearing in December 2020.

"Since the prevailing situation in Maharashtra is alarming with exponential rise in active cases and to protect the interest of all those who have been or are disabled to access justice, the Chief Justice considered it necessary and appropriate to initiate this suo motu litigation in public interest and to constitute this Special Bench for making appropriate orders considering the plight of the justice seekers," the full bench notes in its order.

IMPORTANT DIRECTIONS FOR EXTENSION OF INTERIM ORDERS