As mercury soars in New Delhi, Supreme Court urges lawyers to attend hearings online

New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India, on Wednesday, appealed to all members of the Bar to attend case hearings online, citing extreme weather conditions and ongoing efforts to reduce avoidable expenditure amid the West Asia crisis.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi was hearing a plea seeking directions to make all Delhi court proceedings virtual in view of soaring temperatures in the national capital.

"The temperature in Delhi is touching 50 degrees Celsius and it may not be conducive for senior members to come in public transport. Best is online," the bench observed.

While declining to issue any judicial directions mandating virtual appearances, the court urged lawyers to make use of the online mode wherever possible.

"We appreciate the initiative taken by the petitioner. However, it may not be prudent to issue judicial command for members to appear online without knowing the difficulties faced by them; consequently, we deem it appropriate to not issue any directions," the bench said.

The appeal comes days after the Supreme Court decided to hear cases exclusively through videoconferencing on Mondays and Fridays. Judges also unanimously resolved to encourage car-pooling arrangements among themselves to ensure optimum fuel utilisation.

The measures were adopted following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to reduce avoidable expenditure in view of the West Asia crisis.

On May 21, the CJI had said he had requested chief justices of all high courts to conduct hearings online, with most high courts already implementing the arrangement.

The observations came after a lawyer sought an urgent hearing of a petition requesting that all Delhi district courts function virtually for three months in the interest of public welfare.

The petitioner argued that extreme summer conditions warranted temporary online hearings to ease difficulties faced by lawyers, litigants and court staff.