New Delhi: More than 500 lawyers have written to the Supreme Court of India seeking reopening of the court and resumption of physical hearings as the virtual courts are not serving the purpose.
Listing out various issues in virtual courts, the advocates have complained that there is a lot of connectivity issues, technical glitches in hearing, financial distress on advocates etc. Many a time judges are also seen frustrated due to technical glitches during the hearing, and the court has even ordered the Secretary General to look into the matter.
A bench led by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul had expressed his disappointment over the top court's inefficiency in holding virtual courts when the Delhi High Court, just a few km away, was efficiently conducting virtual hearings. Attorney General of India, KK Venugopal, had also said that he will write a letter to the Secretary General, after he faced disconnection and technical glitches during a hearing.
The lawyers through their letter have also contended that gradually normalcy is returning in various High Courts and places like malls, marriages halls, private offices etc. so the apex court can also think about it. Listing of cases has also become difficult after the virtual court system has started.
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Earlier this week, while hearing a case pertaining to the financial distress of advocates during the pandemic, the Chief Justice of India, SA Bobde, had said that as per the medical advice it is still not advisable to congregate. He had added that various High Courts reopened but were shutting down again because the lawyers did not turn up in physical hearings.
The Supreme Court has been functioning virtually since march last year when the lockdown was imposed. Since then it has been working in the same way despite a lot of requests from the advocates. This has not only resulted in difficulty for getting cases listed but also has caused a huge financial burden on young advocates who earn on case to case basis.
