Lawyers' offices in parts of Delhi flooded by rain water

As torrential rains continue to wreak havoc in the national capital and other parts of the country, lawyers took to social media to share their grievances..In South Delhi, Advocate Pragya Paarijat Singh's basement office was flooded."My office basement is literally flooded. Had to remove all the files overnight. Was also stuck in traffic yesterday for good 3 hrs. Tried sealing gaps but the monsoon onset is crazy and reminds us how ugly things can be when Mother Earth’s fury reaches it’s peak . Be safe folks," she tweeted..Speaking to Bar & Bench, Paarijat said the unrelenting rain had caused water-logging in her lower basement office in Jangpura in South Delhi. "There has been damage to the office setup and case files. Removing water doesn't help unless the rains stop, as the water keeps seeping in. This has had a huge impact on how we function," she said.The lawyer and her team are finding it hard to commute safely to the office or the courts. "Our clients have been unable to come over for meetings. We are somehow managing the pressing work virtually. We hope normalcy returns soon.".Other city lawyers also reported damage to case files, office equipment and other paraphernalia..A lawyer on the condition of anonymity said that the excessive rains over the weekend had caused overflowing of drains and sewers, flooding their basement office in knee-deep waters as a result. “The office has been flooded with 3-4 feet of rain water, damaging files, computers and furniture. This has also led to loss of data. Pumping the water out has been hampered due to paucity of machines as well as electricians,” the lawyer added..The heavy downpour also forced courts and tribunals in North India to either suspend physical functioning or assure lawyers that no adverse orders would be passed if they are unable to appear due to water-logging..The Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) on July 9 informed lawyers in the city that the Delhi High Court had decided to not pass any adverse orders in case a lawyer did not appear on Monday..Similarly, the Punjab & Haryana High Court Bar Association wrote to the Chief Justice to declare Monday as a day of "no adverse orders" given the issuance of a red alert advisory and heavy rains in the state..As lawyers, judicial members and court staffers were inconvenienced by the rains, the Himachal Pradesh High Court on Monday made the decision to suspend its functioning..Rains impede court functioning in north India; Himachal Pradesh High Court closed, NCLT Delhi cancels physical hearings.The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) issued a direction restricting physical hearings and intimated that all cases will be heard via virtual mode after its building was water-logged due to heavy rains."In view of the torrential rains, NCLT Building is water logged and is being inspected by CPWD for Civil and Electric faults. Members of Bar and litigants are requested not to come for physical hearing. No adverse order be passed. The Benches shall attend the matters through Virtual Hearing mode. This issues with the approval of President, NCLT," read the notice.The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) also notified that no adverse orders would be passed if a litigant or counsel was unable to appear before the tribunal due to the rains."Please take notice that today due to water-logging and alert of heavy rains no adverse orders be passed in event an advocate of a party is unable to appear," stated the notice.