New Delhi, Apr 21 (IANS): The Ministry of Personnel on Monday announced the suspension of functioning and hearing of the Central Administrative Tribunal benches till May 3 to contain the spread of Covid-19.

The decision was taken based on information that the High Courts are not functioning and exceptional cases are dealt with through video conferencing. In almost all places, the CAT benches are located at hotspots and the representatives of Bar have also expressed their difficulty in filing or pursuing the cases in this situation, a Ministry of Personnel statement said.

"It is therefore decided that the functioning of, and hearing in, the Benches of the Central Administrative Tribunal shall remain suspended till May 3," it said.

The statement further added that the feasibility of working on certain days already declared as holidays or vacation shall also be considered once the functioning begins.

The current second phase of the lockdown will end on May 3. The first phase of 21-day lockdown, between March 24 and April 14, was imposed by the Centre to break the chain of novel coronavirus pandemic which has claimed at least 603 lives and over 18,000 confirmed cases across the country so far.