Covid-infected lawyer causes panic in SC courtroom

A lawyer caused panic during a hearing in the Supreme Court on Wednesday after the revelation that he was diagnosed with Covid-19 a few days ago.

The incident occurred when Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed was hearing a case in a full Courtroom No 1 in Islamabad.

Barrister Dr Adnan Khan during the hearing said that he was appearing in the court despite being tested coronavirus positive.

His remarks caused panic in the courtroom with Justice Gulzar expressing his annoyance. "Why did you appear in the court today? You are playing with the lives of others," the CJP said.

Barrister Dr Adnan, in his response, said that he had requested to adjourn the case after the diagnosis three days ago but it was rejected. An important case regarding the lecturers of the Higher Education Commission was being heard today that is why he showed up, the lawyer added.

Justice Gulzar instructed Barrister Adnan to immediately leave the court and submit his arguments in writing.

Subsequently, after the chief justice's orders, the counsel left the courtroom.

In April, the apex court had proposed a mechanism of hearing cases via video link amid the spread of Covid-19 pandemic and consequent difficulties faced by litigants and counsels. 

Pakistan's daily virus cases topped 3,000 during the past 24 hours, the highest single-day rise since July.

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has reported 3,009 new coronavirus cases, taking the nationwide tally to 382,892.

In the last 24 hours, the virus claimed 59 lives as the country's death toll stands at 7,803.

Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar took to microblogging website Twitter and warned people that "whoever is telling you that Covid-19 will not do anything is the enemy of your health and job".

The federal minister went on to say that 324 patients have been admitted to hospitals and 116 more put on oxygen beds in the last 24 hours.

Amid the second wave of the contagion, the federal government on Monday announced the closure of all educational institutions until January 10. It had already banned public gatherings as well as indoor weddings, while restricting the timing of various entertainment places.

The National Coordination Committee (NCC) has now decided to engage the Ulema (religious scholars) to ensure the implementation of preventive measures against coronavirus in mosques.

Earlier this month, Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice died due to Covid-19 after battling the contagion for 15 days.

He was first admitted to a hospital in Peshawar but later shifted to Kulsum International Hospital in Islamabad where he died due to coronavirus related complications.