High Courts Are In A Better Position To Seek Immediate Reports & Pass Directions & Orders: Supreme Court Bar Association Tells Supreme Court

Hours after Supreme Court bench of Hon’ble Chief Justice SA Bobde, Justice L Nageswara Rao & Justice S Ravindra Bhatt has taken a suo moto cognisance on the availability and distribution of essential services & supplies such as Drugs, oxygen and vaccination, the Supreme Court Bar Association (“SCBA”) has filed an intervention application for impleading the it as parties/ respondent in the same. 

It has been argued that the High Court situation almost invariably in the state’s capital are in a better position to seek immediate reports from the local administration and pass directions and orders for immediate removal of difficulties arising in treatment of the infected patients depending upon local emergent situation. 

“The State machineries are lacking on various aspects and Hon’ble High Courts are suitably dealing with the issues prevailing at local level within their territorial jurisdictions.”, the application reads. 

SCBA in its application has also highlighted the Supreme Court’s observations of High Court’s power under Article 226 of the Constitution of India not only being vast enough to cover the ambit of Article 32 but having the ambit of travelling beyond the latter. 

The applicants have further submitted about their inability to ensure proper hospitalisation, supply of essential drugs, etc. for its members & their family irrespective of availability of all its resources through its various esteemed members & its own status. 

“The entire Executive Committee of SCBA is today functioning like a control room for its members to facilitate their admission in hospitals, ensuring availability of oxygen, drugs, etc, for their treatment and also helping them in last rites where unfortunately they fail in saving life.”, the application states.

Further, the applicants have highlighted the absence of preparedness in advance for the present situation by Central & State machinery as a result of which the difficulties are arising at local level & have thus submitted that Hon’ble High Courts in the present situation appear to be best suited to deal with the situation. Thereafter, the SCBA has requested for allowing the Hon’ble High Courts to continue dealing with the present issue.

“It is further relevant to mention here that at present, all the Courts are functioning through Virtual Mode and technical issues have been arising during the course of hearing, when communication between the lawyers and the Bench was stopped or interrupted or could not start at all. In these circumstances, physical hearing may be warranted sometime for better and effective hearing on the issues, for which Hon’ble High Courts will be better equipped to deal with the local issues keeping the local conditions in view.”, the application states.