Supreme Court issues notice in plea seeking option of virtual hearing for pregnant women lawyers

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice in a plea seeking the option of virtual hearings for women lawyers during pregnancy, until they are capable of appearing in courts physically [Esha Mazumdar v. Union of India]..Notice was issued by the Bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and BR Gavai, which tagged the matter with other pending cases related to virtual hearings..The petitioner claimed that woman lawyers are compelled to end their practice due to pregnancy and childbirth so as to take care of the family, and that measures under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 cover employees from both private and public sectors, but not independent practicing lawyers."When a woman chooses to get pregnant she is exercising her right under Article 14,15,16,19 & 21 of the Constitution of India. Having to choose between the pregnancy and profession would be a travesty of Justice. This choice is not voluntary as child bearing mothers are constrained to bring their children to courts as they may not have requisite resources to ensure oversight of children," the plea stated..It was further stated that as per a report submitted by Rainmaker, which was published by Hindustan Times in 2012, women working with law firms appeared to be the worst affected, with 75 percent of them saying that a maternity break adversely affected their career, followed by women in litigation or court practice.Moreover, the petitioner claimed that the age between 27-40 is the peak time for any advocate's practice and is also the time when women are generally thinking about growing their families. When these women return to work after years, it takes a toll on their practice, Mazumdar stated..Section 7 of the Advocates Act 1961, requires the Bar Council of India (BCI) to safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates. Therefore, BCI is also duty bound to safeguard the rights and interests of women, she argued..On these grounds, among others, the Court was asked to pass a direction to the Central government, BCI and other respondents to formulate a policy to allow women lawyers to appear before courts and other judicial bodies virtually during their pregnancy, and for at least 26 weeks post that..[Read Order]