While declining the complete switchover of the Supreme Court functioning to the virtual mode, Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna said on Tuesday that all the judges have been asked to allow virtual hearings wherever possible in view of the severe level of air pollution in the national capital region.
Chief Justice Khanna said the lawyers would have the option of appearing online before the court, after the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta senior advocate and President of the Supreme Court Bar Association Kapil Sibal, and senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, pointing to the alarmingly toxic level of air turning worse, requested the CJI for a complete switch over to virtual functioning of all the courts.
Advertisement
As Sibal said air pollution was “getting out of control” and courts be allowed to function online, Chief Justice Khanna said, “We have told all judges here, wherever possible, to allow virtual (hearing).”
Sibal then said 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).
As Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan told Chief Justice Khanna that around 10,000 lawyers come to the court daily, in their vehicles, apart from their clerks, who also use personal vehicles often, the CJI Khanna said, “We will leave it to the lawyers concerned… we have given them that facility, whenever you want to appear virtually, you can.”
