"Supreme Court Has Not Denied Access To Justice For A Single Day Since Lockdown, This Is Salutary": Solicitor General Tushar Mehta

"My Lords have not denied access to justice even for a day, I have been assisting My Lords since the first day of lockdown. This is something salutary," the Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta submitted before the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

A bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde, Justices AS Bopanna & V. Ramasubramaniun was hearing a Public Interest Litigation which sought effectuating open court hearings due to the financial distress and loss of income faced by advocates.

Advocate Nilakshi Chaudhary submitted before the court that there was a need to effectuate hearings in open Court as not doing so was against the tenets laid down by the Constitution.

"Isn't this an open court?" the CJI asked Counsel.

"Also, do you know that effectuating hearings could mean being in a situation where Covid cases could rise? This would mean an increasing fatality rates because of courts," he added.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta added that the issue could not be looked at from the perspective of making ex-parte arguments and that it had to be a consultative process.

He then suggested that a meeting be convened to take into account the issues that have engulfed lawyers during the pandemic with Bar Councils viz. the suo motu plea of the top Court concerning financial distress faced by lawyers on account of the ongoing pandemic, owing to limited physical hearings.

The bench said that the Bar had the primary responsibility of taking things forward. 

Senior Advocate Manan Kumar Mishra, BCI Chairman stated that the Council's had done whatever was possible within their capabilities while Senior Advocate PS Narsimha suggested that loans may be disbursed for junior counsel. 

In this context, the bench stated that the Solicitor General may conduct a consultative exercise and the proposal's of bar associations towards the Central Government to arrange financial aid of 3 lakhs to struggling lawyers may be taken into account.

The Apex Court had taken cognisance of the financial difficulties being faced by lawyers due to the COVID-19 pandemic in July last year.

Case Title: IN RE FINANCIAL AID FOR MEMBERS OF BAR AFFECTED BY PANDEMIC | Dr. Nilakshi Chaudhary Vs. Union of India