Munmun Kaur
Published On: January 18, 2022 at 11:30 IST
The Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA), made a representation to the Chief Justice of India NV Ramana to ask the Registry to not insist on a particular kind of equipment or connectivity to join Court hearings virtually.
This comes in response to the Supreme Court’s notification on January 17, regarding “Best practices for virtual court proceedings”, that requested the Advocates to join virtual hearings through laptops/desktops with a stable internet connection and to avoid joining through mobile phones. The directions were issued to avoid disruption and inconvenience to Judges.
Joseph Aristotle S, Secretary of SCAORA said that in view of the said notice many members of the Bar have reached out saying that the pandemic has severely affected their financial condition. Many have lost their regular practices and have moved back to their hometown in order to save the expense of an office and residence.
SCAORA further called for the attention of the CJI that most of the members including the junior members of the Bar appear through mobile phones due to its availability and as the connectivity is not dependent on any other factors like WiFi, power backup, etc. In fact, some Advocates who have access to laptops, join through phones when several matters are listed on the same day since there are issues of power cuts.
The representation also added, “In fact, for some lawyers, mobile is used as a last resort whereas for some it is the only resource.”
The representation urged the Apex Court that in face of the aforesaid circumstances, not to insist on a particular kind of equipment and connectivity to join the hearings. “The Bar and Bench being two wheels of justice have always come together to ensure uninterrupted access to justice for all”.