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The Bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad conducted
hearings via video-conferencing on 20-4-2020 where one judge was in Delhi and
the other in Chennai.
Justice Prasad, who was recently transferred to Delhi, had left for Chen-
nai before the lockdown was announced and remained there since. However,
transcending distances, the Bench heard matters after the High Court administra-
tion reached out to Justice Prasad and ensured he could log in from Chennai on
the Delhi High Court system, as per sources.
The Bench took up two petitions on 20-4-2020 in this manner where law-
yers and judges participated remotely. One case was related to providing food,
water, electricity and sanitation to thousands of homeless persons, daily wage
workers, stranded and living in the open along the banks of Yamuna at Kash-
mere Gate.
After hearing the Counsels for the Government and Petitioner Sunil
Kumar Aledia, the Bench directed the Delhi Government to continue with steps
taken by it to ensure there was no dearth of food, water, electricity and sanitation
where the homeless were living.
It had also taken on record assurance by the Government that its Labour
Department inspected camps for construction workers at Sarai Kale Khan and
was satisfied that it was being run smoothly and contract labourers/daily wagers
were being supplied food and other facilities on a regular basis during the lock-
down period.
The other matter before the Court was a plea by a pregnant woman seek-
ing to abort her foetus as it suffered from several abnormalities and its chances of
survival after birth was bleak. The Court allowed the woman to terminate her
over 23-week pregnancy noting there was a “substantial risk” that the baby
would, after birth, suffer from abnormalities that would be “seriously detri-
mental to its healthy and normal life.”
It noted, “the child would be exposed to numerous intra operative and
post operative complications and if any such problems arise, it would affect the
quality of its life.”
[Source : The Times of India, New Delhi, dated 22-4-2020]

C.B.I. & C. clears ` 10,700 crore GST, Customs duty refund
in 16 days
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes (C.B.I. & C.) has cleared over
` 10,700 crore worth refunds in GST and Customs duty between April 8-23.
In the ‘Special Refund and Drawback Disposal Drive’, the C.B.I. & C. of-
ficers have cleared over 1.07 lakh Goods and Services Tax and IGST refund
claims worth ` 9,818.12 crore.
Over 1.86 lakh Customs and duty drawback refund was processed total-
ling ` 915.56 crore, the C.B.I. & C. said in a tweet.
“C.B.I. & C. is committed to help GST Taxpayers/Exim Trade during
#COVID-19. Expeditious sanction of refunds during Special Refund Drive pro-
vide relief to trade, especially MSMEs,” it said.
The Finance Ministry had on April 8 said that to provide relief during
COVID-19, it has been decided to issue all pending GST and Customs refunds
EXCISE LAW TIMES  1st May 2020  57