Felt unwell after morning walk: CJI mulls virtual-only hearings

As Delhi-NCR continues to battle “poor” to “very poor” air quality for weeks, CJI Surya Kant on Wednesday said he felt unwell when he went out for a walk yesterday.

“The only exercise I do is walking. But even that is difficult now. Yesterday, I walked for 55 minutes and till morning, I had problems,” the CJI said while hearing petitions challenging the SIR of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and other states/UTs.

Justice Kant said he was mulling shifting SC hearings to the virtual-only mode and a decision would be taken after consulting the Bar.

The CJI’s comments came after senior counsel Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the EC, sought exemption from personal presence. “I have congestion issues... Please allow my colleague to take notes. I want to appear through video conferencing on the next date… I am having some issues after I went for a morning walk. I want your lordships’ leave. Permission may be given to appear online, I am not well,” Dwivedi said.

Agreeing with Dwivedi, senior counsel Kapil Sibal said, “At our age, we are breathing this obnoxious air when the AQI is 400-500.” Dwivedi also suggested that lawyers aged 60 and above should be exempted from in-person hearings.

“If I take any decision, then we will take the Bar into confidence first. We will see hardships faced by lawyers and litigants...if we get a proposal, then we will do something. I will meet office-bearers in the evening and take some steps,” Justice Kant said.

Presently, the SC functions in hybrid mode conducting its proceedings through both physical and virtual modes. Earlier on November 13, Justice PS Narasimha too advised lawyers to appear virtually amid severe pollution.