In the spirit of accessibility, Supreme Court has decided to continue online hearings on miscellaneous days: CJI NV Ramana

Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana on Saturday said that in order to ensure that Supreme Court remains accessible to lawyers from distant parts of the country, he after consultation with brother and sister judges of top court, has decided to continue online hearings on miscellaneous days i.e. Mondays and Fridays..The CJI pointed out that even though the Supreme Court had reverted to physical hearings from April 4, 2022, an option is still provided to litigants and lawyers to appear virtually for their cases.The CJI noted that Senior Advocate P Wilson, who is also a Member of Parliament, had introduced a private members bill to have regional benches of Supreme Court."I am not aware if Centre has expressed its view on the subject but in the same spirit of accessibility, in consultation with my brother and sister judges of Supreme Court continued the hearing online on miscellaneous days," the CJI said.Even on non-miscellaneous days (Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays), lawyers can take permission from court and appear online, he pointed out. "On non-miscellaneous days advocates can still take permission of court to appear online and thus enabled advocates from all over the country to continue their practice before the Supreme Court. I hope this practice will continue in future also," he said..CJI Ramana said that he hopes that the practice that was adapted in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic will be the norm in the future with the support of the Bar Council of India and State Bar associations.He also said that he had taken up the issue with Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju as well..Virtual hearings helped underprivileged litigants, saved their time and money: Union Law Ministry .The CJI was speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Administrative Block of Madras High Court and inaugurating the court buildings located in Namakkal and Villupuram Districts..He also spoke on the importance of ensuring representation of all classes and sections of society in all spheres of the judiciary and the legal profession."Inclusivity is one of the most important aspect of Indianisation. Representations of all classes and sections in this profession will be benefitted. I have been a strong proponent of representation of woman in all spheres of this profession"However, representation of women alone wouldn't suffice, he opined, as socio-georgraphical diversity must also be reflected in the judiciary."Inclusivity does not stop with only representation of women. The social and geographical diversity must find reflection in all levels of the judiciary and people would feel it is their own judiciary," the CJI opined. He elaborated on the point by citing examples of how judges from marginalised or rural communities may better understand the issues faced by litigants from similar backgrounds."Everyone has a voice in the system and they form a substantial part of it. We are awaiting a day when persons, gender, orientation, birth or identity would not act as a barrier," the CJI said. .Everyone has a voice in the system and they form a substantial part of it. We are awaiting a day when persons, gender, orientation, birth or identity would not act as a barrier.CJI NV Ramana.He then moved on to the geographical and language barriers faced by both litigants and lawyers and opined that continuing the system of hybrid hearings might help address the issue for the time being..Read more about CJI's speech here. Read live coverage of the event below.