The Bombay Bar Association (BBA) has sent a letter to the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, Dipankar Datta, seeking permission to allow court proceedings to be conducted virtually, or use a combination of both physical and virtual hearings for a hybrid solution. This comes as Maharashtra and Mumbai are experiencing a new spike in coronavirus cases.
The Bombay HC has resumed physical hearings of pretty much every case since the first week of December 2020. The court was only hearing cases virtually since March 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown.
The President of the BBA, Nitin Thakker cited the state Government’s new order announcing a night curfew starting March 28, highlighting the “seriousness of the pandemic”.
“A large number of advocates have tested positive for Covid-19. We have been given to understand that a number of Court staff and some of the judges have also been infected. Despite this, the crowd in the courtroom and the high density of people attending the court continues. In some of the Courts, due to very heavy assignment and small court rooms, lawyers virtually stand shoulder to shoulder,” BBA’s letter read.
The BBA had shut down its premises on the 17th of March after it was revealed that a canteen worker tested positive for the virus. The association then sanitized the premises before reopening again.
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As per sources, in a March 19 meeting between the State Government, administrative judges of the High Court, and multiple bar associations, they decided to limit the entry of litigants within court premises (unless called upon by the court) for at least two weeks.
The meeting also resulted in a decision to allow individual judges at the HC in Mumbai to decide on holding virtual or in-person hearings, depending on the situation.
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The letter from the BBA went on to say, “Numerous law firms have informed that their juniors, staff and office personnel have tested positive in significant numbers. Some of the firms have closed their offices. The members of the Bar have requested that at least a hybrid format should be provided where lawyers have an option to attend virtually. This hybrid format has been operating extremely smoothly in some of the courtrooms where the judge has made this facility available.”
The Chief Justice and the High Court’s Administrative Committee are expected to take a decision on this matter later this week.
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