In light of the monumental impact of the COVID-19 crisis, the Punjab and Haryana High Court issued a stay on further legal proceedings in cases registered for violation of pandemic norms during the tumultuous period in Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh on Friday.

The Bench further clarified that the stay would apply to cases registered under the Epidemic Diseases Act, the Disaster Management Act, as well as Section 188 and two other provisions of the IPC.

The directive was issued as the bench deliberated on exercising its authority under Article 226 of the Constitution to annul the proceedings. The order will be effective until at least March 14, the subsequent date of the hearing.

During the resumed hearing of the suo motu case, the bench comprising Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal and Justice Kirti Singh noted that the Covid-19 pandemic posed a significant challenge to humanity. They highlighted that a nationwide lockdown was implemented to mitigate the spread of the virus, with authorities issuing orders under Section 188 of the IPC, Section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, and Section 51 of the Disaster Management Act.

The Bench acknowledged that, for the most part, people were complying with the orders. However, they recognized that there might have been urgent situations prompting individuals to leave their homes in violation of the orders, such as the necessity for food and medicine.

“While considering the issue of invoking our power under Article 226 of the Constitution to quash these proceedings, we deem it appropriate as an interim measure to direct that the further proceedings in the cases registered under Sections 188, 269, 270 of the IPC, read with Section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act and Section 51 of the Disaster Management Act, without invoking other provisions of the IPC or other penal enactments would remain stayed till the next date of hearing,” the Bench observed.

Before concluding, the Bench emphasized that on a previous hearing date, the court had expressed serious concerns regarding the potential burden on the judicial system due to a large number of such cases. They noted the consideration of taking action "across the board" to provide relief even to those accused whose cases were not being monitored by the court in the writ petition.

Referring to the status reports, the Bench observed that 5,792 cases are currently pending trial or under investigation in Punjab under these provisions. Around 12,000 cases of a similar nature had already been concluded.

In Haryana, 4,494 such cases were pending, while a substantial number of these cases had already been disposed of. Around 114 cases were at present awaiting trial or investigation, while 974 cases of a similar nature had been disposed of.