Have urged chief justices of all HCs to conduct virtual hearings: Chief Justice of India

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said on Monday that he had requested the chief justices of all the high courts to conduct hearings online on Mondays and Fridays for the time being to reduce avoidable expenditure in the wake of the West Asia crisis.

On May 15, the top court decided to hear cases exclusively through video conference on Mondays and Fridays, and judges "unanimously resolved" to encourage car-pooling arrangements amongst themselves in order to ensure optimum fuel utilisation.

The move came following a call by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on cutting down avoidable expenditure due to the West Asia crisis.


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On Monday, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi praised the CJI for the decision during the hearing of a case, saying that there was seamless integration of technology and judges showed "extra patience" during online proceedings.

"I commend the Chief Justice of India for the online hearings because today, they have gone on smoothly in all the courts," Rohatgi said, adding "I must commend the Chief Justice for this step. I also urge that all the high courts follow suit".

He further said that the digital hearing did not hinder the judicial process and "every judge was extra patient. The VC (video conference) hearings went on very smoothly".

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Solicitor General Tushar Mehta echoed the sentiment, saying, "I join my learned friend in those submissions".

"On Friday itself, I requested all the chief justices of the high courts to follow the same online hearing mode for the time being, if possible," the CJI said.

Mondays and Fridays are days typically reserved for miscellaneous matters.