Coronavirus | Supreme Court to explore feasibility of physical court hearings

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will explore the feasibility of physical appearances of advocates in the court while adhering to physical distancing norms amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The court has been hearing urgent cases through videoconference throughout the period of the lockdown. The Benches hearing these cases sit in the courtrooms while lawyers, who are supplied with video links, make their submissions from their homes or offices. The court had named this mechanism as the ‘virtual court’ system.

However, the Supreme Court Advocates-on Record Association (SCAORA) has been making representations to the top court that a majority of the lawyers find that they cannot effectively present their arguments during virtual court hearings.