Sc issues sops to resume limited physical hearing of cases

The Supreme Court has issued standard operating procedures (SOP) for the proposed experimental physical hearing of cases on the request of various lawyers’ bodies. Since March 25, when the

Covid lockdown was in place, the top court has been taking up matters through video conferencing. However, no date has been put out in the SOPs for the resumption of physical hearing. The

SOP issued by the apex court’s Secretary General Sanjeev S. Kalgaonkar said: “On an experimental basis, and as a pilot scheme, physical hearing of matters may initially commence in three (3)

courtrooms; eventually, number of matters or the number of courtrooms may be increased or reduced, as the situation may warrant or permit.” Only such number of lawyers or parties will be

permitted to appear inside the courtrooms, as does not exceed the working capacity of the courts as determined under physical distancing norms, the SOPs said. The top court administration

said until further orders, entry into the High Security Zone through proximity cards/long term passes shall be kept suspended. “If in a matter, the number of parties is more, then one

Advocate on Record (AOR) and one arguing counsel per party will be allowed entry; one registered clerk per party, as may be chosen by the AOR, shall be allowed entry to carry

paper-books/journals etc. of the counsel upto the courtrooms,” it said. “Multiple sets of one chair and table are being placed inside the court-rooms, in the areas demarcated for Ld.

Advocates/Parties-in-Person, and it shall be incumbent upon the users to maintain minimum prescribed physical distancing norms between each set, which should not be removed from their

positions,” added the two-page SOP.