"At a loss": Supreme Court after Calcutta High Court insists on physical presence of sick accused

The Supreme Court recently took exception to a Calcutta High Court order which insisted on the physical appearance of two co-accused in a matrimonial dispute. .A Vacation Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma reasoned that the liberty to appear online should have been granted since one of the parties was medically unwell and had a surgery scheduled."We have failed to comprehend the necessity of the direction of the High Court ... We are also at loss to comprehend as to why despite the advancement of science and technology and with the introduction of facilities for virtual hearing in the High Courts, the Court did not consider it desirable to grant liberty to the two petitioners to appear before it through the virtual mode," the apex court said. It, therefore, stayed the High Court's direction and allowed the parties to appear virtually before the High Court."An attempt to achieve it [settlement] by allowing the petitioners to attend proceedings through the virtual mode ought to have been made. The impugned order is bound to operate harshly against the petitioners," the top court opined. .The Bench was hearing an appeal against a May 14 order of the High Court.By way of the same, the High Court had directed the police to ensure the appellants remain personally present, so that it could interact with them in connection with a dispute involving marital discord.One of the the appellants had a surgery scheduled and hence, travel from another State was ill-advised, it was contended.The top court found force in the same."The situation, prima facie, was not such so as to call for the Court’s insistence for personal presence of both the petitioners including the ailing petitioner no.2 by taking an arduous journey from a distant place like Mumbai despite his medical conditions," the Supreme Court said. .It, therefore, allowed the appellants to appear online before the High Court. The matter will be taken up next in July..Advocates Pinak Kumar Mitra, Binish Kumar, Rishabh Singhle, and Sujoy Chatterjee appeared for the appellants.[Read order]