Supreme Court Bar Association urges CJI to resume physical hearing in the top court

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has urged the Chief Justice N.V. Ramana to resume physical hearing in the apex court, as the Covid-19 situation in Delhi has come to almost normal.

The apex court's bar body, through its President and senior advocate Vikas Singh, in a letter to the Chief Justice on Tuesday, said on July 5, the Covid-19 positivity rate has come down to 0.09 per cent, where out of 61,405 tests, only 54 positive cases were reported.

"As the situation stands today, nobody knows when things may further escalate, and a third wave may also become a possibility. In these uncertain circumstances, I feel that we have to resume our activities on the basis of the current situation," the SCBA chief said in his letter.

The bar body said the way forward in today's scenario would be to start the court with normal functioning by observing Covid-19 appropriate behaviour, "so that the court functioning does not in any manner increases the Covid-19 impact even if a third wave were to come".

The bar body suggested only advocates may be allowed to enter courtrooms as caution while litigants and media persons can watch the proceedings virtually. "Even litigants should not be allowed to enter the courtroom as we do not know their vaccination status and they should only watch the court proceedings through virtual mode," it said.

The SCBA added that all courts must sit at 10.30 a.m., which is the normal practice. On miscellaneous days, there should be six slots of 45 minutes each. In these slots, 10 matters could be assigned in every slot of 45 minutes, which would enable the court to take up nearly 60 matters for hearing.

"As on Non-Miscellaneous days, i.e., Tuesdays to Thursdays, subject to overnight part-heard matters, two slots of 45 minutes each should be assigned for miscellaneous/final disposal matters and thereafter three slots of one hour each should be assigned for two final hearing matters in each slot so that around six final hearing matters can be taken up for hearing," added the letter.

The SCBA said its executive committee has already taken proactive step to vaccinate all its members and their family members.

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