‘Courts should resume work as usual’

MUMBAI: The outbreak of novel Covid-19 and the subsequent lockdown has compelled the Bombay High Court to limit its functioning to just two days a week and that too for two hours. But now it's time to make peace with this virus and adjust to the new normal, said senior counsels of the Bombay HC, who want the courts to now function with full strength.

The senior counsels have written a letter to Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and four senior judges of the HC, urging them to commence with the usual functioning of the HC.

In their two page letter to the CJ, the senior counsels, led by Anil Sakhre, have said since dispensation of justice is an important facet of the Constitutional framework, it is desirable for it to WOR normally and not in a fractured manner, the way it is working presently. "The current system of hearing on video conference has its own set of problems as the technology is woefully inadequate and therefore this style of functioning will necessarily have to be revisited, the letter reads.

It also highlights the "dramatic spike" in the spread of the virus in Maharashtra and particularly in Mumbai. "It is quite uncertain as to when the situation would come under reasonable control. To further speculate, would also be unwise as truth be told nobody knows how the situation is going to unravel in the coming days," the senior counsels led by Sakhre, have said.

The advocates have further said that Mumbai will have to gradually open as per the guidelines of the government since it is the financial capital of our country.