On Sunday, the Bar Council of Delhi decided to hold a meeting with all the bar associations in Delhi to work a plan to revert back completely to the physical mode of hearing by courts and Tribunals.
BCD Chairman Ramesh Gupta in a media statement claimed that this has not been done yet due to some affluent advocates who have consolidated their work while sitting in farmhouses, hilly areas, and abroad and are against physical hearing.
The Chairman also alleged that the affluent lawyers insisted on a hybrid system so that they could accommodate more and more work at the cost of others.
The BCD chairman comes two days after the Senor Advocate and Supreme Court Bar Association President Vikas Singh wrote to the Chief Justice S A Bobde that things were almost very close to normal in Delhi and there was no reason for the Supreme Court to still function in virtual mode. Thus, he sought to restart the physical functioning of the Supreme Court as soon as possible.
Gupta said that though BCD is thankful to the Delhi HC for accepting its demand of increasing the number of physical hearing benches in January, the decision of not reverting back to the pre-Covid time despite repeated requests for the same is against the interest of a common advocate and the spirit of the open court. He also says that it lacks transparency.
On January 18th, the Supreme Court increased the number of physical hearing benches to 11. It had also directed the Subordinate courts to hold physical hearings on alternative days from January 18.
However on January 22 after some lawyers approached the Supreme Court against this decision claiming that this was a kind of compulsion to risk lives and come to court. Thus, the court decided to put in place the Hybrid system of hearing.
In the court of Justice Prathiba M Singh, the new system was run on an experimental basis on January 25 and January 27.
Gupta said that BCD cannot be a silent spectator and thus will hold a meeting for all the bar association presidents on February 6th at 3:00 PM at its office at the high court complex to discuss the course of action plan in order to revert back to the physical mode of hearing completely.
Libertatem.in is now on Telegram. Follow us for regular legal updates and judgement from the court. Follow us on Google News, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter. You can also contribute blog, articles, story tip, judgment and many more and help us spread awareness for a better society. Submit Your Post Now.
