[Omicron variant] Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar requests Delhi High Court to revert to virtual functioning

As Coronavirus’ new Omicron variant sweeps across much of the UK and Europe, Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar has now written to Delhi High Court Chief Justice, DN Patel, requesting the court to revert to virtual functioning after winter break..In his letter, Nayar said that the risk of infection with this new variant is even greater and therefore it is time that due caution is exercised for the safety of all the stakeholder.“My interaction with colleagues and past experiences tell me that no social distancing norms are being followed and there are no adequate checks for identification of symptomatic cases. The congregation of a large number of advocates, support staff and court staff who physically attend court would no doubt put everyone at risk of contracting the infection and it is urged that we revert back to the system adopted earlier through virtual mode to carry on the work of our Court to prevent the spread of the virus,” he wrote..The letter added that the Judges are also at a great risk since they are compelled to hold court physically and have to inevitably interact with the administration and court staff.The letter also cited the incident of a young lawyer who was attending court physically testing positive resulting in a “stir and panic in the court premises”..Earlier, similar concerns were raised in the Court of Justice Rekha Palli as well when Senior Advocate Rahul Mehra raised the issue of overcrowding in the court.Justice Palli then asked all the people not having business with the case being heard to move out of the Courtroom and not stand too close to each other.The Delhi High Court will go into winter-breaks from December 25 and re-start functioning on January 3. .The Omicron variant was first detected in South Africa and since then it has spread to much of the Globe. The worst affected country remains to be the UK, which has reported over 90,000 Covid cases in a day. In India, the Omicron cases have crossed the 100 mark with Scientists expressing fears that it is spreading more quickly than the Delta variant which resulted in the devastating second wave in the country..[Read Letter]