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Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on Tuesday declined the request of some senior lawyers asking for complete virtual functioning of courts and emphasized the importance of hybrid hearings in courts, allowing lawyers to appear online while also maintaining physical court proceedings.
CJI told lawyers that judges are being told to conduct virtual hearings wherever possible and lawyers can choose to appear virtually during the hearing. Amidst the alarmingly severe air quality in Delhi, Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, senior advocate and President of the Supreme Court Bar Association Kapil Sibal and senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan requested the CJI for complete virtual functioning of all courts. Sibal said air pollution was "getting out of control" and courts be allowed to function online. To this, the CJI said, "We have told all judges here, wherever possible allow virtual." Sibal then told the apex court that other courts in Delhi also be sent the same message, CJI Khanna replied that the lawyers would have the option (of an online hearing). Sankaranarayanan then told CJI that around 10,000 lawyers come to the court daily, in their vehicles, apart from their clerks, who also use personal vehicles often. "We will leave it to the lawyers concerned... we have given them that facility, whenever you want to appear virtually, you can," CJI replied. Notably, the air quality in the national capital remained in the 'severe plus' category for the second consecutive day on Tuesday morning, with smog shrouding the city, reducing visibility and worsening air pollution to touch an alarmingly high level of poor AQI. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the national capital recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) at 488 as of 8 am, placing it in the 'severe plus' category. At such high Air Quality Index (AQI) levels, the air is considered hazardous to health, particularly for vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly, and people with respiratory or heart conditions. (ANI)
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