SC Issues Notice To SCBA, BCI & 4 HCs On A Plea Seeking To Declare Virtual Hearings As A Fundamental Right

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Bar Council of India, Supreme Court Bar Association and four High Courts seeking their views on a writ petition seeking a declaration that virtual court hearing is a fundamental right.

While some State Bar Councils have been open to discuss the possibilities of adopting a hybrid system of hearing, few have been reluctant. In fact, the recent announcement by Uttarakhand High Court to revert to a physical system of hearing while discarding the potency of adopting a hybrid system of hearing has become the subject matter of a fresh writ petition.

A petition filed through "All India Association of Jurists" and legal reporter Sparsh Upadhyay before the Supreme Court seeks to declare the virtual system of hearing a fundamental right. In the present case, the petitioner sees hybrid systems of hearings as means to facilitate the access to justice for the common man.

While virtual hearings make it easy, cost effective and efficient for lawyers to attend the court proceedings and allow them to present the case from any location, many believe that factors like non verbal cues can be best assessed in a physical setup. For instance, body language, eye to eye contact with the accused during a cross examination is considered most effective in a physical courtroom environment.

The High Courts of Uttarakhand, Bombay, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala have been made respondents in the petition. The bench also impleaded the BCI and the SCBA. The Court will hear the views of the parties over the debate surrounding the adoption of a hybrid court system.

While virtual courts improves the access to justice for litigants, it will be interesting to see if the Supreme Court would validate the argument declaring virtual court system as a fundamental right.