Supreme Court issues SOP for hybrid hearings effective March 15

GENERAL OVERVIEW

• The Supreme Court, which is hearing cases through video-conferencing since March last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will commence hybrid physical hearing from 15 March 2021.
• The bench will decide if a case will be listed for hybrid hearing, depending on the number of parties involved in a matter and the capacity of the courtroom.
• However, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) moved the Apex Court seeking the quashing of the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), saying it has been framed without consulting the Bar, an equal stakeholder in justice delivery system.

FURTHER DETAILS

• According to the SOP, the Advocate On Record (AOR) has the option to chose the mode of hearing matters listed before the Supreme Court. AOR has to register first on the E-nomination portal of counsels/clerks for Hybrid Hearing.
• The SOP issued said, “On an experimental basis, and as a pilot scheme, the final hearings/regular matters listed on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays may be heard in the hybrid mode, as may be decided by the bench, considering the number of parties in a matter as well as the limited capacity of the courtrooms; all other matters, including those listed on Mondays and Fridays, shall continue to be heard through video/tele-conferencing mode".
• AOR’s may submit their preferences for appearing before the court either physically or through video or tele-conferencing mode within 24 hours or by 1pm the next day after the publication of the weekly list of final hearings or regular matters.
• The SOP also stated that, “It may be noted that wearing of masks, frequent use of hand sanitizer and maintaining physical-distancing norms are mandatory for all entrants into the Supreme Court premises, including into the courtrooms".
• According to the SOP, a Special Hearing Pass has to be generated through the SC website for each particular item on given day. The entry through proximity cards will be suspended for the time being till further orders.

SCBA RESENTMENT

• However, a bench of justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hemant Gupta headed by SCBA president, Vikas Singh did not agree with the SC’s SOPs on hybrid physical hearing, saying that the Bar is an "equal stakeholder" in the justice delivery system and the decision has been taken unilaterally and thrusted upon it.
• The plea filed by SCBA and its Treasurer Meenesh Kumar Dubey has sought quashing of the SOP and a direction to the Apex Court’s Registry not to issue “any circular without consulting the Bar”.
• The plea has said that paperless e-filing of judicial records and hearing through video-conferencing would save lives as papers have been found to be carriers of the Covid-19 virus.
• “In the SOP …, there is no provision for hybrid hearing for the matters listed on Monday and Friday, i.e. Miscellaneous days when primarily fresh matters are listed. That for around last one year this court is working through virtual hearing and there is no provision for oral mentioning in Standard Operating Procedure dated 05.03.2021…,” the plea said.

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