Start hybrid system of hearings in all courts, permit one junior lawyer with main counsel: Bar Council of Delhi requests Chief Justice Patel

The Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) has written to the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court requesting the adoption of a hybrid system for hearings in all courts in the capital..The letter written by BCD member Rajiv Khosla also seeks permission to allow the entry of one junior lawyer along with the main counsel appearing for hearings in physical court..The letter addressed to Chief Justice DN Patel seeks to draw his attention to the "grave sufferings" of litigants and lawyers caused due to the non-functioning of courts in a normal fashion. .Despite much of the country having reopened between the Unlock 1 and Unlock 5 phases, the functioning of courts has yet to resume in a normal manner. The letter states that while the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over, lives cannot be brought to a standstill especially since the fate of the vaccine and the continuance of the pandemic is uncertain and unknown..To buttress the need for resuscitating the courts' functioning, BCD points out that exercises such as Assembly elections are scheduled to be carried out in the State of Bihar, something that even the Apex Court refused to stall and interfere with..COVID-19 cannot be ground for postponing elections: Supreme Court refuses to entertain plea seeking postponement of Bihar Polls.With essential services running seamlessly even during lockdown, and the rest of the sections of the society gradually coming back to work in a phased manner since the lockdown began to be lifted, litigating lawyers appear to be the only section who are "still locked in the houses", the letter states..The Delhi High Court - much like many other High Courts and the Supreme Court - devised the system of hearing urgent cases through video conferencing. But this system, while ensuring access to justice was not shut down, was suitable only for a short period of time, and has now caused a perception of being a means to be misused by some for securing favourable orders, BCD states..The present system of virtual hearings is resulting in 70-75 percent of the cases being adjourned, leading to litigants' distress on account of cases not moving forward and lawyers' peril of losing out on fees. Therefore, there is a need for a hybrid system of hearing cases through both video conferencing and physical appearance, with the judges assembling in their respective courtrooms and passing orders after hearing all sides through whichever mode of appearance they choose.."Hybrid system is the best way to resume the work and for passing orders in case of non-appearance of lawyers is without any cogent reason."BCD letter.While physical appearance would be the ideal way of carrying out the functioning of the Court, on account of reservations of some lawyers against the same, the hybrid system would be the most effective form to adopt, it is suggested. The letter further states,."The Hybrid mode will not give any excuse to anyone for non appearance in his case citing the difficulty of causing appearance in a particular mode which will further empower the presiding officer to pass effective orders after hearing both the parties and the same will also reduce the pendency in future besides providing some monetary relief to the lawyers who are hard-pressed on account of the same.".This kind of system has already been experimented with by some courts, the letter goes on to state.With a budget of Rs 10-12 crore in total, the requisite infrastructure for facilitating the hybrid system can be installed in all courtrooms in Delhi's jurisdiction including the High Court, the BCD says. This system will also be useful in the long run and will come to the aid of women advocates and lawyers beyond a certain age who are unable to come to court physically due to family engagements or ailments respectively. .In addition to the resumption of physical hearings, the letter also touches upon the issue of financial distress caused to many young lawyers who are facing hard times. Despite all efforts, the BCD could not disburse more than Rs 5,000 each to these lawyers, considering the large number of applicants who sought to claim the one-time compensation..It is pointed out that junior lawyers are also losing out on their basic allowance and fee, with virtual hearings doing away with the need for juniors to assist their senior lawyers. At present, Senior Advocates are allowed to enter the courtrooms with only one briefing counsel and this, the BCD says, deprives young lawyers of their professional work. Making a plea for the benefit of these young lawyers, the letter says,."The pandemic does not make a difference between a senior designated Advocate or any other Advocate, therefore if Senior designated Advocates have been permitted to get assistance of one junior Advocate during the Corona period and we hope that this small concession on your behalf will certainly help in reducing the sufferings of young lawyers.".The Bar Council has urged the Chief Justice to consider these suggestions for the benefit of litigants and lawyers alike..Read Letter: