Chennai, Jan 2 (PTI): The Madras High Court will not resume physical hearings from January 3 as was announced, it was said on Sunday.

Also Read | Tamil Nadu Govt to Commence Virtual Treatment for COVID-19 Patients, Says Health Minister Ma Subramanian.

The Acting Chief Justice Justice M N Bhandari issued orders owing to a spurt in Omicron variant of coronavirus. The orders apply to the functioning of the Principal Seat here as well as the Bench in Madurai and all the subordinate courts in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, said a notification from P Dhanabal, Regsitrar General of the Madras High Court.

Also Read | Goa Aims to Vaccinate All 72,000 Children in 15-18 Age Group With First Dose in Next 4 Days, Says Vishwajit Rane.

"Physical hearing and hybrid option before all courts shall remain suspended. All hearings shall be through virtual mode only," it said.

Filing of papers, copy applications and receiving the order copies among others in emergent matters alone would be through e-mail and in exceptional cases, it shall be through the respective counters/drop boxes provided for the purpose subject to strict adherence to Covid-19 safety protocol, it said.

This arrangement shall be operational from Monday till further orders, it added.

Last week, a notification said the Madras High Court would have only physical hearing of cases from January 3.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)