Have written to Chief Justices of High Court to allow hybrid hearings amid rise in COVID-19 cases: CJI DY Chandrachud

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Thursday said that he has written to Chief Justices of High Courts across the country asking them to allow hybrid hearings in view of the rise in COVID-19 cases..Before a Bench of CJI Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala, advocate Siddharth Gupta mentioned the need for virtual hearing access in courts where only physical hearing is allowed.CJI Chandrachud remarked,"I have written letters to Chief Justices of High Courts, I am meeting judges in Odisha tomorrow who are on the Information and Communication Technology Committee. There are so many things we do not speak about. We are doing it."Gupta was mentioning a plea filed by the All India Jurists Association, a body of more than 5,000 lawyers across the country seeking a declaration that right to participate in court proceedings through virtual courts via video conference is a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(a) and (g) of the Constitution.The plea filed through advocate Sriram Parakkat has contended that virtual courts and conducting cases through video conference by resorting to use of information, communication and technology is a fundamental right available to every lawyer under Article 19(1)(a) and (g) of the Constitution..Last month, the Supreme Court encouraged advocates to appear for hearings virtually if they could, amid the rise in COVID-19 cases in the capital.The CJI had then said,"Newspaper reports show that COVID cases are on the rise. Whichever lawyer wants to appear virtually they can. The hybrid mode is on and I see many lawyers who are appearing online. So please feel free to.".Amidst reports of a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases across Tamil Nadu, the Madras High Court had decided to conduct hearings via the hybrid mode beginning April 10.Similarly, proceedings in cases before the Chief Justice court (courtroom number 1) of the Telangana High Court are being conducted in hybrid mode.