The Supreme Court’s committee of seven judges has recommended the resumption of physical hearing of old cases after 10 to 15 days. Only the counsel required to argue a case would be allowed entry, when it is called for hearing, in only three courtrooms.
The regular open court hearing in the SC had stopped following the Covid-19 outbreak. Previously, the Supreme Court Advocateson-Record Association had also urged the Chief Justice of India and all other top court judges to resume physical court hearings.
In a letter written to judges, the association had said that 95% lawyers weren›t comfortable with virtual court hearings since glitches with audio and video didn›t allow them to effectively put forth their arguments, which in turn was deterring them from consenting to such virtual hearings.
The letter stated that in cases involving several parties and appearances by many lawyers, not all lawyers got a chance to speak and their microphones were put on mute by the hearing coordinator which resulted in hearings being conducted in their absence.
The letter also highlighted severe financial problems faced by lawyers during the lockdown due to the staggered working of courts, which have been in place for the past 3 months and which will not abate till normal functioning of courts resumes.