Sushree Mohanty
The recently elected Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President and Senior Advocate Vikas Singh wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of India, SA Bobde requesting that he open the Supreme Court for a physical hearing with full attendance since the COVID-19 pandemic and the affected cases are declining.
The Supreme Court Bar Association President said that conducting the proceedings in open Court is both the tradition as well as the constitutional necessity in the Supreme Court.
The Senior Advocate added that virtual hearing was just a substitute to open hearing so that the wheels of justice do not stop moving during the pandemic. He pointed out that in any case, Virtual hearings are not comparable to physical hearings.
“There is no reason to not open the Supreme Court for physical hearing. Taking everything into account, it tends to be assured that the advocates will continue wearing their facial masks and follow the social distancing guidelines as much practicably conceivable as to ensure the safety of the other practicing lawyers.”
Vikas Singh additionally suggested that sufficient thermal checks can be made at the entry point for the advocates as well as the litigants entering the Supreme Court and hand sanitizers can be placed in the entryway of every Courtroom. He stated-
“These means are sufficient for resuming the physical hearing in the Supreme Court with full capacity as this is the only way the establishment should work.”
“As I had referenced in my prior letters, the younger individuals from my Bar are suffering because of the current virtual framework combined with shortened postings, henceforth now, taking into account the way that we have practically overcome the pandemic, in the capital Delhi at the least, there is no reason to proceed with a similar framework and full physical hearing of the matters should be resumed in the larger interest of the Bar,” Singh stated to the Chief Justice.
He stated that the pandemic in the nation has been particularly in control for a period of time as the infected rate in the city has declined to around 0.3 percent during the time.
His letter expressed-
“Even the Supreme Court on the judicial side has made certain observations in cases that the pandemic is on the decrease and has enormously lessened while passing orders for holding examination and dismissing extension of bail plea of individuals who were conceded bail before because of the pandemic.”
Stressing upon the complaints against the video conferencing guidelines, the SCBA president said that the rate of patients tested positive for the virus has declined by 0.3 percent and that in Delhi out of 5,751 emergency beds reserved for COVID-19 patients, only 437 are being utilized.
He added that only one out of 7,392 beds in the COVID care centre has a patient and while all of the 307 beds in COVID-19 Health Centres are lying vacant.
He also highlighted the fact that when rules passed by the government permit 200 guests at marriage parties, where most people are found without facial masks as they eat and drink there, there was no ground for not resuming the physical procedures in the Court.
This is the third time the senior advocate has written a letter to the Chief Justice of India requesting to resume the physical hearing and proceedings in the Supreme Court.
In one of his letters, he had stated to the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India that the pandemic situation is in control and thus there was no justification to continue to hold the Court proceedings on virtual mode.
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