Kriti Agrawal
Chief Justice N V Ramana took notice of representations from Bar bodies requesting advancement of summer vacation in light of the massive rise in covid-19 cases on Monday and agreed to refer them to the full bench for consideration.
Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), led by president and senior advocate Vikas Singh, and the Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association (SCAORA) announced that the summer vacation in the Supreme Court would now begin on May 8 and end on June 27 instead of May 14.
Sources close to the situation later explained that the CJI had preliminary talks with bar leaders from the SCBA, the Bar Council of India (BCI), and the SCAORA, and “Decided to bring the matter before the full court, which alone is competent to decide on the vacation.”
They added, “The CJI also held preliminary discussions with senior judges on the matter and agreed to refer it to the full court for consideration,”
In the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic’s second wave, the SCBA and SCAORA have both asked the Chief Justice to reschedule the summer vacation.
Sachin Sharma, a member of SCAORA’s executive council, stated that the bar body has written to the Chief Justice of India requesting an extension of the summer vacation due to an increase in covid-19 cases.
In a letter to the newly named CJI, the SCBA’s Vikas Singh also proposed that additional buildings on the court grounds be used to supplement Delhi’s existing healthcare facilities.
Considering the enormous pendency caused by the pandemic, the SCBA proposed shortening the summer holiday by one week, reducing it to six weeks rather than seven.