Citizens' Right To Access to Justice Will Always Be Available: Senior Advocate Mohit Mathur

The unprecedented onslaught of the Covid 19 pandemic, 22 months back, brought a never seen before disruption to the economic and legal sector in India. 

The courts, physical system of appearance, client engagement had a substantial and tangible physical value. For instance, Senior Advocates will be quick to tell you the importance of physical demeanor and body language in criminal trials.

When Covid hit the legal profession in India, life and routine of lawyers came to an abrupt halt. 

Ask any Delhi based lawyer and he will be quick to give you a worrying picture with reference to the sharp decline in the volume of work in the always busy and rushed district courts of Delhi.

Lawyers who come with a beaming hope to the grande legal cosmos of Delhi to struggle their way to success in the national capital had to return back to their hometowns with a shadow of gripping uncertainty on their future. 

Although, what appeared to be all gloom and doom in the initial week of March 2020 turned out to be an opportunity for the legal fraternity to come together and find solutions to the way we work in the backdrop of the Covid 19 health crisis.

And by and large, the way the legal fraternity and the bar associations across India have come forward to help lawyers and staff members has shown the glory and character of the indomitable human spirit and kindled an unbridled faith among the different stakeholders in the legal system.

The move from the physical system of hearing to virtual was quick. But what was the ground reality and the initial challenges?

On the Sudhir Mishra Show,  Senior Advocate Mohit Mathur shared some fascinating anecdotes and experiences on streamlining the judicial process during the peak of pandemic.

Reflecting back on the experiences and adversities of realigning and redefining the way lawyers work, Mathur said that it is an ever evolving system. 

Today, I can always fight and agitate the citizens' rights to Access to Justice. No one can say that the court is shut. Together, we proved that access to Justice will always be available, he added.

But what appears to be a transforming journey in terms broadening the scope of access to justice has been full of human stories. Stories of heartbreaks, hope and above all, grit and resilience to sustain and move forward.

Sharing his experiences, Adv Murari Tiwari hits the nail on the head. Giving a glimpse of the magnitude of struggle witnessed during the lockdown, he tells us that lawyers have come and asked for financial help worth Rupees 50.

In such pressing times, the legal fraternity in Delhi exhibited unparalleled unity in arranging and disbursing funds to the tune of 15-20 Crores, he adds.

The struggle to survive was one part of the story. The other part was solving the sudden and impending infrastructure demand. And for the most part, the infrastructure woes still persist when it comes to augmenting virtual hearing systems and legal tech to enable access to justice in district and lower courts.

The lower judiciary at the heart is still not ready for paperless trials and more so,  up skilling the digital literacy  quotient for an average lawyer is still a task in itself.

At this juncture, it is equally pertinent to to appreciate the phenomenal work done by the state High Courts and Supreme Court during times that demanded highest levels of compassion along with heightened sense of sensitivity.

Lawyers working in the Delhi High Court and Supreme Court would be the first one to testify that the Judges and their staff had worked hand and glove to ensure a citizen’s right to access to justice is never interrupted. There have been instances where judges have sat on cases till late night when the situation demanded acute urgency.

Talking about the impeccable work done by the judiciary, seasoned lawyer Sudhir Mishra says future generations will benefit from the work the judiciary and the legal fraternity has done during the pandemic. He particularly hailed the tireless functioning of the Delhi High Court during the oxygen crisis that had gripped the city during the second wave of the pandemic.

Although, a lot more is needed to be done on multiple counts. Covid 19 has proved to be a learning curve for lawyers. The common attitudes that have emerged out of the crisis is the belief in community and collaboration. 

More than that, it has brought out the humane side of lawyers with an unflinching faith in thriving together in difficult and uncertain times.