ISLAMABAD: Over 30 officials of different departments of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) have tested positive for Covid-19 since Eid.

Some of official were posted in the courtrooms and interacting with the IHC judges and public.

The IHC’s staffers rested positive during routine checkup and testing by the National Institute of Health (NIH).

However, NIH results become questionable as the last week’s report of Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani turned out to be erroneous as the second test of Justice Kayani from a private diagnostic center cleared him from the virus on very next day.

However, after NIH’s report, the judge quarantined himself at home.

IHC registrar office cancelled the list of the cases to be heard by Justice Kayani last week.

On July 29, IHC bench comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Kayani heard the appeals of Maryam Nawaz and retired Captain Mohammad Safdar against conviction in the Avenfield Properties reference.

The bench adjourned the hearing till Aug 4.

It was presumed that the hearing of Maryam Nawaz’s appeal would be adjourned due to unavailability of the bench, however, sources in the IHC said that Justice Kayani will resume the office on Wednesday and will part of the special division bench hearing the appeal.

However, staff working in the court of Justice Kayani including readers, clerk, naib court and peon also found infected of coronavirus, sources in the IHC said.

Besides, the staff of Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri and Justice Babar Sattar also tested positive.

According to the sources, after the sudden rise, the IHC administration considering taking stringent measures which included reducing 50 per cent attendance of the court staff and asking them to attend their respective departments on alternate days, besides suspending the biometric system and marking attendance manually.

After the first wave of Covid-19, IHC had issued guidelines for maintaining social distancing in order to prevent the risk of contracting oronavirus.

The high court had advised the district judiciary not to hear routine cases, and judges directed to visit jail premises to grant or consider bail matters and judicial remand of the accused.

The district administration had been asked to take precautionary measures to ensure proper disinfection.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2021