NEW DELHI: Courts should resume physical hearings at the earliest, the Bar Council of India and Delhi High Court Bar association on Wednesday told a parliamentary panel, noting that ministries and all government departments have already opened, sources said.
Representatives of Bar Council of India (BCI) and Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice headed by senior BJP leader Bhupender Yadav to brief him about the 'functioning of courts through video conferencing/virtual courts'.
Underlining that virtual courts are not feasible in many districts as there is a lack of infrastructure and technology, both bodies of lawyers emphasised on resuming physical hearings at the earliest, saying the judicial system in districts is impacted in the wake of absence of physical hearings, the sources said.
Both BCI and DHCBA said if ministries and government organisations can resume operations with social distancing norms, courts can also do it and they should resume physical operations, they said.
Representatives of both bodies of lawyers also requested the parliamentary panel to share their concerns about virtual courts with the authorities and suggest them to do the needful, the sources said, adding that the members of the panel were sympathetic to their demands.
BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra and DHCBA president Mohit Mathur were among those who appeared before the panel on Wednesday.