'We See The Gravity Of Problem' : Supreme Court To Consider Tomorrow Pleas Against Physical Hearing In Delhi Courts

[Update on Janaury 19 : 'We Trust That The Chief Justice Of Delhi HC Will Do The Needful'; SC Disposes Of As Withdrawn Lawyers' Pleas Against Physical Hearings In Delhi]"We see the gravity of the problem", remarked the Chief Justice of India on Tuesday while considering a petition filed by a group of advocates challenging the decision of the Delhi High Court to resume physical hearing in certain courts (Karthik Nayar and others v Hon'ble High Court of Delhi).The CJI also said that the ordinarily the Supreme Court will not interfere with the administrative decisions taken by a Chief Justice of the High Court. Therefore, the CJI initially suggested that the petitioners should go before the Delhi High Court itself challenging the decision."We see the gravity of the problem. Primarily, we do not interfere with the administrative decisions of the Chief Justices. We will ask you to go back to the High Court and address your grievances there", CJI SA Bobde said.In response, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal submitted that there was a "clear and present danger" involved as lawyers will be exposing themselves to the COVID-19 pandemic. To take away the option of virtual hearings completely, and to state that no adjournments will be granted in physical hearings was unreasonable in the present circumstances, Sibal submitted."We understand", the CJI replied.Sibal urged the Court to pass an order stating that physical hearings are optional. The option of virtual mode should be kept available during the pendency of the decision by the High Court, if the Supreme Court is relegating the parties to the HC, Sibal submitted.At this juncture, the CJI-led bench said that the matter will be considered tomorrow. Senior Advocate Anjana Prakash told the bench that a group of women lawyers have filed a petition challenging the resumption of physical hearing and requested the bench to tag the said petition also tomorrow.The bench comprising Chief Justice of India SA Bobde, Justices L Nageswara Rao and Vineet Saran considered the petition against the Delhi High Court's decision to resume large-scale physical hearing before itself and subordinate courts in Delhi with effect from January 18, without giving a choice to lawyers to appear through virtual mode.Advoates Kartik Nayar, Nancy Roy, Sanchit Jolly and Amit Bhagat have challenged the order of the Registrar General of the Delhi High Court dated 14.01.2021 which has instructed the Principal District & Sessions Judges and the Principal Judge, Family Court to start physical hearings on alternate days basis from 18.01.2020. The Court shall hear matters through video conferencing on non physical days.Advocates Amrita Sharma,Saumya Tandon,Padma Priya,Asmita Narula, Shivani Luthra who are practicing women advocates before the High Court of Delhi as well as the District Courts in Delhi have also moved Supreme Court challenging Impugned office order in view of the fact they compel the advocates, court staff, litigants and other persons appearing before the Courts to put at risk their own, as well as their family members' health in order to earn livelihood.The plea advances that the impugned Public Notification dated 14.01.2021, issued by the High Court of Delhi, is in complete and utter violation of personal as well as fundamental rights of the lawyers and other legal persons appearing before the Courts- "The High Court of Delhi has miserably failed to take into consideration the well-being, life, liberty and health of the lawyers, clerks, court staff, support staff, the judges, and litigants by compelling them to attend the court hearings in person and thereby has wilfully infringed the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 19 & 21 of the Constitution of India"It is urged that there is still alarming rise in the reported cases of Covid-19 in the national Capital, around 15,000-20,000 new cases are still being reported every-day and in no way the intensity of spread of Covid-19 has declined in any manner whatsoever. In fact, the death toll has been repeatedly increasing as new fatalities are reported every-day."The High Court, by way of the impugned notification failed to take into account and understand the plight of advocates travelling from outside of Delhi for physical hearings, amidst the ongoing pandemic in public conveyances thereby increasing the chances of catching and transmitting the infection and unnecessary exposure to risk of Covid-19, both inside and outside the Court premises and its ramifications on the entire legal community and general public at large. The Hon'ble High Court of Delhi has failed to take into consideration the new strain, mutant UK variant of Covid-19, which reportedly spreads much faster and therefore increases the number of cases significantly and is much harder to contain in comparison to the ongoing Covid-19. Reportedly, there have been more than 100 cases of the mutant variant of Covid-19 in India, with more than 20 in the national capital itself,...

'We See The Gravity Of Problem' : Supreme Court To Consider Tomorrow Pleas Against Physical Hearing In Delhi Courts

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