BCI Chairman Urges Apex Court not to Continue Virtual Hearings post lockdown as 90% of the Lawyers, Judges unaware of the Technology. [Read Letter]

(Judicial Quest News Network)

The Chairman of Bar Council of India, Mr. Manan Kumar Mishra, has written a letter to CJI expressing his concerns and reservation regarding the continuation of the video conference hearing after the COVID-19 lockdown is lifted.

The Council has advised that many lawyers, belonging to humble background either have resources nor the education to adapt to such technological advancements overnight.

HE further mentions that “While all this is the need of the hour at this juncture ,as there is simply no pther opinin at the moment; but there is a disturbing trend and an impractical thought process is beeing advocated by some people,including some emminent names too at this point in time.”

He has clearly highlighted the “Yawning Gap”between availability of resources among various income groups in Inida, “We should not forget that a large starta of society here in India still have no drinking water in their vicinity,are unable to eat eventwo meals a day, while at the same time there is another starta of society which has access to private jets even.”

Mr. Mishra further stated that “people sitting on elevated chairs seem to be,probably far away from the groumd realities and that is why  they are harbouring and advocating such thoughts.

Mishra says that owing to the present unprecedented circumstances ,holding hearing virtually is the only way.However he objects the ideas allegedlly being propogated by many in the legal fraternity favouring the use of technology for holding virtual hearings even after the lockdown.

Advocating his own views Mishra aaserts that “They are thinking on such a tangentand amking suc utopian plans, which is as if , they are planning upon implementing and executing such ideasfor a fully developed nation like UK, USA or in some other country other than India.”

 Under the clouds of the significant econois disparaties existing in thje country to point out that all members of the legal fraternity do not have access to the requisite technological resoureces.

There is a “humongous  difference in the technical knowhow”.

Mishra further states that people knock on the doors of the Court closet to them after failing to get their grievances redressed by the executive.Many of these Courts, or Advocates practising there, may not be equipped with the “Modern technology” required for e-filing, scanning and video conferencing.

Mishra in his letter strongly oppses the views forwarded by the former Delhi High Court Judge (Retd) AP SHAH on the digitizaton of Court processes,he states that the “thought peocess may be advanced, but we cannot be jumping the gun.”

“ our thought peocess is very advanced and it should be so too, but we can’t be jumping the gun and foraying into a totally impractical and unworkable world. It is easy to always spread utopian ideas among people , but ideas have to always be weighed and balanced with the practicla positionand its results.”(Manan Kumar Mishra)

Mishra says the Indian Indain Bar is anxiuos to know of the plans regarding the digitization of proceedings being considered by the e-committee of the Supreme Court.

Mishra also speaks of nepotism in the legal industry, stating that by limiting the hold and access of the Courts to a small fraction of all advocates, the legal practice will be grabbed from commonlawyers and will belimited in the hands of a few “ elite classhavimg the nexus with those big families.”

[Read the Letter]