750 lawyers request withdrawal of order mandating physical hearing at NCLT Mumbai; claim premises not conducive to maintain social distancing

Lawyers practicing before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai have written to the President of NCLT, New Delhi requesting for withdrawal of the officer order dated February 23, 2021 mandating resumption of physical hearings in so far as it concerns the NCLT-Mumbai Bench..On February 23, 2021, the NCLT Registrar passed an order that all Benches of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) shall start regular physical hearing with effect from March 1, 2021..A representation signed by 750 lawyers have sought recall of the same citing the growth in the number of COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra and the increased risk of transmission amongst the lawyers, court staff and judges. ."Since the facility for video conferencing already exists and has been successfully used for many months, its continuation will cause no hardship or prejudice to anybody, but its suspension will force lawyers either to give up their practise or risk coming to the NCLT against their will," the communication by the lawyers to NCLT president said..The representation stated that most lawyers attending the courts are above 50 years with co-morbidities and attending physical hearing would expose them to fatal risk. .Interaction of people would be difficult to regulate and considering the premises of NCLT in Mumbai, there will be an exponential increase in human interaction, they added. .The representation described the premises of NCLT Mumbai to highlight how unlike Bombay High Court premises, it would be difficult to maintain social distancing in NCLT premises. The shortcomings were as follows..The corridors are extremely narrow with a waiting area which over-crowded even in pre-COVID times.4 out of 6 court rooms had no windows which would compel the staff to switch on air conditioners.Insufficient lifts and long lines to get in those lifts lead to over-crowdingEach bench of NCLT has heavy boards with multiple stakeholders in each leading to enormous crowding in the courtroom itself.."With such a heavy load of cases being taken up by each Bench, the procedures of sanitisation and cleanliness will be impossible to follow. ...As a result, all lawyers, their clerks, on any given day will be using the same court room, chairs, etc, in rapid succession, thereby increasing the risk exponentially," the representation said. .The lawyers claimed through the representation that the partial resumption of physical hearing in some benches with parallel hearings over video conferencing in other courts/ tribunals will create immense hardship and confusion leading to inefficiencies in the system."It maybe noted that the system of hybrid hearings with one side being present over virtual heraings and the otherside being present physically, is unwieldly and not successful.".Referring to the literature available in print media on the consequences of contracting COVID-19, the representation said that the long term effects on the person contracting the virus are still being discovered..In view of the above reasons stated, the lawyers requested for a withdrawal of the office order..[Read representation here]