SC to continue online hearings on miscellaneous days, says CJI

NEW DELHI: Hearing of cases online is being continued in the spirit of providing accessibility to lawyers practising across the country and it should be strengthened in future, Chief Justice of India (CJI) N V Ramana said on Saturday.

“In the spirit of accessibility, I have, in consultation with brother and sister judges in the Supreme Court, continued with online hearing for miscellaneous days which we had started during the pandemic. On nonmiscellaneous days, advocates can still seek the permission of the court to appear online,” the CJI, who was speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of an administrative block at Madras high court, said.

“This (system of online hearing) is to enable advocates from all over the country to continue their practice before the Supreme Court. I hope this practice continues and is further strengthened in the future,” he added.

Miscellaneous days refers to Mondays and Fridays, when the top court takes up fresh cases.

Recently, a private member bill, seeking to set up regional benches of the top court in the same spirit of promoting accessibility, was moved by senior advocate and MP P Wilson in Parliament, CJI Ramana said. “I am not aware if the Government of India has expressed its views on this subject,” he said.

“The social and geographical diversity of the nation must find reflection at all levels of the judiciary. With the widest possible representation, people get to feel that it is their own judiciary,” he added.

Stating that inclusivity within judiciary does not stop at providing representation to women, the CJI raised the pitch higher for including persons with different orientation in the judicial system.

“Everyone has a voice in this system, and they form a sub

This (system of online hearing) is to enable advocates from all over the country to continue their practice before the

Supreme Court

NV RAMANA, CJI

stantial part of it. In fact, we are awaiting a day where a persons’ gender, orientation, birth or identity would not act as a barrier,” he said.

Welcoming the top court’s decision of continuing to hear cases online, Supreme Court lawyer Sriram Parakkat said: “It’s a welcoming step. The real connoisseur of the legal system is the litigant from the far away village who tries his best to reach institutions like the judiciary. Bar associations should forget petty monopolistic tendencies and allow the benefits of technology for increasing diversity and access to justice. In this case, the Hon’ble Chief Justice has done exactly that.”

CJI NV Ramana