KARACHI: Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday announced new Covid-19 restrictions to control the spread of virus as the country continues to battle its third wave. The restrictions will be applicable till May 22.

According to a circular, the following cases can be fixed in the high court in Karachi and its benches in Sukkur, Hyderabad, and Larkana. Pre-arrest and post-arrest bail, habeas corpus petitions or detention matters, urgent petition seeking injunctions/stay order involving an imminent threat of irreparable loss, criminal appeals against conviction in which convicted person is still confined in jail and any urgent matter.

Authorities have been directed to display instructions that only relevant advocates should attend the court at the relevant time when the case is taken up.

SHC also instructed district and sessions courts to only fix cases of urgent nature, including bail hearings, review petitions, cases at the final stage among others. Special courts and tribunals have been told to ensure strict observance of SOPs and fix cases to avoid overcrowding in court premises.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021