It’s not only offices across the world that are having discussions about working from home in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. So are the...
It’s not only offices across the world that are having discussions about working from home in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. So are the courts in India.
Ever since the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, the physical functioning of courts in India has been curtailed, with hearings being conducted using video teleconferencing software. Gradually, however, courts are returning to physical hearings.
But this opening up has not been free of controversy. While junior lawyers want physical hearings to resume, a few influential senior advocates would rather have virtual proceedings continue, at least partially.
The debate has brought attention to the yawning divisions in the legal profession in India.
Courts and the pandemic
Virtual hearings have been taking place in the Supreme Court for almost 18 months, ever since the Covid-19 hit the country in March 2020. However, the Supreme Court is now talking of gradually resuming physical hearings.
On August 28, the Supreme Court released a standard operating procedure, which gave the judges and the parties discretion if they wanted physical hearings. The Supreme Court Bar Association, which wants more physical hearings, opposed this standard operating procedure. Since the Covid-19 positivity rate is down and public spaces are opening up, the Supreme Court should restart normal operations, it said.
Responding to this,...
