Judges, lawyers give mixed response Judges of the Madras High Court have scheduled a meeting this Friday to take stock of the COVID-19 situation in the State and to decide on whether it would be safe to commence the physical functioning of its principal seat in Chennai and that of the Madurai Bench.
TAMIL NADU
HC to look at resuming physical courts
Chennai, 11/4/2008: Madras High Court in Chennai on Friday. Photo: V. Ganesan.
Chennai, 11/4/2008: Madras High Court in Chennai on Friday. Photo: V. Ganesan. | Photo Credit: V_Ganesan
Legal Correspondent
CHENNAI 20 AUGUST 2020 00:02 IST
UPDATED: 20 AUGUST 2020 00:02 IST
Judges, lawyers give mixed response
Judges of the Madras High Court have scheduled a meeting this Friday to take stock of the COVID-19 situation in the State and to decide on whether it would be safe to commence the physical functioning of its principal seat in Chennai and that of the Madurai Bench.
Tamil Nadu Advocates’ Association president S. Prabakaran said opinion was mixed among judges as well as lawyers on the continuance of virtual courts. While some judges and lawyers were in favour of continuing with virtual courts, others were not.
“Not all advocates have access to resources such as laptops, computers and seamless Internet connectivity. There are those who are forced to argue cases only through their mobile phones and they find it very difficult to conduct those cases,” he said.
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He said the opinion among judges, too, was divided on the issue as some felt that not all kinds of cases could be heard through virtual courts. On the other hand, there were also judges who had found the hearing through videoconferencing to be very effective.
Justice N. Anand Venkatesh had recently recorded in his judicial order as to how he successfully conducted the virtual hearing of a batch of cases challenging the charges levied by Tangedco on high-tension consumers.
Stating that he had listed the batch for hearing on a Saturday, after obtaining special permission from Chief Justice Amreshwar Pratap Sahi, since around 30 lawyers had to argue the batch of cases, the judge said the hearing was very effective and fruitful.
Pointing out that all documents related to the case were also exchanged conveniently through e-mail, he said: “This case in an indicator that videoconferencing is going to open up new vistas in the justice delivery system, even during normal court functioning.
“Cases which can be conveniently conducted through videoconferencing must be identified and those can be heard in a relaxed manner, even on a holiday when everyone is in their own residence or office, provided that the counsels in the case consent for such a hearing.
“This scenario was unthinkable before March. Virtual hearing is now here to stay and the institution must take full advantage of it, of course, upon ensuring that the stakeholders are fully equipped to get to the next level,” the judge had said.
Justice B. Pugalendhi too had made similar observations in a judicial order. He said the State had very good Internet connectivity, and, hence, it was possible for lawyers to argue cases in virtual courts even while travelling in their cars.
But P.S. Amalraj, chairman, Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, said a majority of lawyers were in favour of resuming physical functioning of courts, subject to safety measures.
“While taking a decision on resuming the physical functioning of courts, the court would also have to take into account the increasing number of deaths in the State, every day, due to COVID-19, and medical advice as well,” added Mr. Prabakaran.
