SC to hear plea seeking to declare virtual court hearing as fundamental right in July
Apr 29, 2022
New Delhi [India], April 29 : The Supreme Court on Friday said that it will hear in July a plea seeking to declare virtual court hearing as a fundamental right.
A bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao declined to give an urgent listing in the matter as it is said that there are various matters before the court. The court said that it will list in July.
The matter was mentioned by Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra.
Various petitions were being heard by the top court seeking virtual hearing as a matter of right.
One filed by the All India Association of Jurists and advocates, representing around 5,000 lawyers across the country, has sought an immediate stay of the administrative order passed by the Registrar General of the Uttarakhand High Court terminating the functioning of virtual courts and thereby, compelling all the lawyers to conduct their cases through physical mode only.
The petition, filed before the Supreme Court, was drawn and settled by counsel Siddharth R Gupta, and has been filed through AOR (Advocate On Record) Shriram Parakkat, and journalist and online legal correspondent, Sparsh Upadhaya.
The petition sought a direction to declare virtual court hearing as a fundamental right and to continue virtual hearings in all High Courts.
The plea specifically challenged the decision of the Uttarakhand High Court to revert to full physical functioning from August 24 to the exclusion of the virtual mode of hearing cases.
The petition raises an important plea of declaration of 'access to virtual courts' by both the counsel as well as the client as a Fundamental Right guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution of India, which cannot be terminated casually and cursorily by the High Court through an administrative order, the petition filed before the Supreme Court said.
