A seven-judge committee of the Supreme Court led by Justice N.V. Ramana has brainstormed with lawyers on the subject of resuming physical court hearings , which were stopped in late March due to the growing health scare caused by the global pandemic.
In a meeting held on July 24 with Bar leaders, the committee finally decided to wait for another two weeks and see how the COVID-19 situation panned out.
A source in the Supreme Court said that during the discussion physical court hearings with glass shields to protect the judges was considered. However, the proposal was dropped. Besides, courtrooms have common air conditioning ducts.
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Many suggestions
The committee is considering a phased opening of the physical court system as and when the situation improves. Suggestions put before the committee included categorising cases that can be heard in physical courts, whenever they begin, and that which can be placed before virtual courts.
Various proposals are on the anvil, including a suggestion that cases in the admission stage can be heard in the virtual court while cases of death penalty, criminal appeals and custody could be sent to the physical courts. Judges did not want to take a unilateral call in the choice of cases and may want the lawyers to have a detailed discussion to work out a mechanism with the Supreme Court Registry.
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As of now, the virtual court system would continue .
Besides Justice Ramana, the other judges on the committee are Justices Arun Mishra, Rohinton F. Nariman, U.U. Lalit, A.M. Khanwilkar, D.Y. Chandrachud and L. Nageswara Rao. They interacted with Supreme Court Bar Association president Dushyant Dave; Bar Council of India chairman Manan Kumar Mishra and Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association president Shivaji Jadhav.
The meeting was crucial as an air of desperation has begun to set in among many legal professionals due to the loss of income in the past months of pandemic restrictions.
“The committee is aware of the plight of many lawyers. Not only lawyers suffer, litigants also do. The committee is constantly reviewing the situation on the ground and following advice from medical experts,” the source said.
The committee has asked Bar leaders to interact with the Secretary General of the Supreme Court about any technical issues faced by lawyers while participating in virtual court hearings.