Supreme Court to cut its 7-week-long summer vacation, adopt new dress code amid coronavirus COVID19 pandemic

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India is all set to cut its 7-week-long summer vacation, which is scheduled to start from May 17, and continue to work through the vacation using video-conferencing facilities to make up for lost time due to the lockdown announced by the Centre to contain coronavirus pandemic.

According to sources, the top court is also likely to order a new dress code for the judges, lawyers and the legal staff since robes and gowns are more vulnerable to Coronavirus attack.

During a court hearing, Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde said, ”Judges and lawyers should dispense with the lawyer’s robes for the time being.’’

The development is the result of recommendations made by a judges’ committee, which recently submitted a report to the CJI suggesting several measures – slashing the length of summer vacation, hearing cases via video-conferencing etc to make up for lost time due to the lockdown announced by the Centre to contain coronavirus pandemic.

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The judges’ committee, which also included Justice L N Rao, was tasked to suggest ways and means for the top court to function during and after the lockdown.

In the wake of coronavirus pandemic, the top court had last month said that ‘’court hearing in the congregation must become an “exception” during the “extraordinary outbreak” of COVID-19 pandemic.’’

It is necessary that all courts respond to the call of social distancing to ensure they do not contribute to the spread of the virus, the Supreme Court said.

Passing a slew of directions for all courts across India, it said that the top court and all the high courts are authorised to adopt measures required to ensure the robust functioning of the judicial system through the use of video-conferencing.

Observing that “technology is here to stay”, the top court passed the directions by exercising its plenary power under Article 142 of the Constitution and said that all the measures which shall be taken by the courts to reduce physical presence of stakeholders within its premises “shall be deemed to be lawful”.

A bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde, also comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and L Nageswara Rao, said, “All measures that have been and shall be taken by this court and by the high courts, to reduce the need for the physical presence of all stakeholders within court premises and to secure the functioning of courts in consonance with social distancing guidelines and best public health practices shall be deemed to be lawful.”

The bench said the outbreak of coronavirus or COVID-19 in several countries including India has necessitated immediate adoption of measures to ensure social distancing to prevent transmission of the virus, and the top court, as well as the high courts, have adopted measures to reduce physical presence.

The top court directed that district courts in each state shall adopt the mode of video-conferencing prescribed by the concerned high court.

The bench directed that courts shall duly notify and make available the facilities for video-conferencing for such litigants who do not have the means or access to such facilities. The top court made it clear that in “no case shall evidence be recorded without the mutual consent of both the parties by video-conferencing”.

The bench said if it is necessary to record evidence in a courtroom, the presiding officer shall ensure that appropriate distance is maintained between any two individuals in the court. It directed that the presiding officer shall have the power to restrict the entry of persons into the courtroom or the points from which the arguments are addressed by the advocates.