Plea filed in Supreme Court to declare virtual hearings a fundamental right

A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court by a lawyers' body for declaring virtual mode of hearing as a fundamental right for advocates and litigants.

Petitioner All India Jurists Association, a body of more than 5,000 lawyers, asked the top court to quash August 16 notification issued by registrar general, Uttarakhand High Court stating that the court will resume physical hearing and no request for virtual hearing will be entertained.

The plea emphasised that access to virtual courts as a fundamental right cannot be denied to any lawyer or a litigant by any court of law. Apart from Uttarakhand, the plea also cited instances of Bombay, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala High Courts compelling lawyers to appear physically.

"Access to virtual courts and conducting cases through video conferencing by resorting to usage of information, communication and technology is a fundamental right available to every lawyer under Article 19(1)(a) and (g) of the Constitution. Being a fundamental right it cannot be defeated or dispensed with on procedural grounds of lack of technology or infrastructure or inconvenience of the courts in handling them," it said.

Read | SC to consider listing pleas on designation to lawyers

The plea claimed the High Court’s order is a death knell for the idea of virtual courts. The order goes against against accessible, and affordable justice being propagated by the e-committee of the top court.

It asked the top court to pass an interim order so that no lawyer in ordinary circumstances should be denied access to virtual courts or any category/class of proceedings before the High Courts.

Besides challenging the decision of the Uttarakhand High Court, the plea also sought a direction to restrain all High Courts from denying access to lawyers through virtual mode of hearing on the ground of availability of physical hearing.

The plea urged the top court to issue direction declaring that the right to access to virtual courts through video conferencing for attending and participating in the conduct of any case proceeding is facet of fundamental right guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution.

On April 6, the top court by a detailed order directed the hearing in all courts should be conducted through virtual mode in view of ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.