Coronavirus: SAT to hear urgent matters only, restricts courtroom access till Mar 27

The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) on Monday said it will hear only urgent matters and restricted courtroom access till March 27 in wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The tribunal said it will sit from 11.30 am to 4.30 pm.

"In order to ensure that the court room is not overcrowded, no person except advocates, CA and authorised representative and one representative of the litigant shall ordinarily be permitted in the courtroom," the tribunal said in an order. All stakeholders have been asked not to crowd the passage, courtrooms and other areas of the tribunal, it added.

For adjournment of any matter, the tribunal said it is not necessary for the advocate, CA and authorised representative or the litigant to be present. Adjournment requests during this period will be entertained on the tribunal's website.

"Further, every effort will be made to intimate/communicate the adjourned date of hearing through notice on the official website or through email within 24 hours," it added. As part of the measures, SAT will hear only urgent matters.

These instructions will remain in force till March 27 "or such date as may be subsequently advised", it said. These measures have been taken for the safety and welfare of the stakeholders and to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The number of coronavirus cases in India rose to 114 on Monday, health ministry officials said. The novel coronavirus, which originated in China’s Wuhan city towards the end of 2019, has so far claimed more than 6,000 lives and infected more than 1.5 lakh people globally..