Supreme Court opts for odd-even scheme to reopen lawyers’ chambers

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 22

Having remained sealed for two months due to COVID19 lockdown, lawyers’ chambers of the Supreme Court are all set to reopen.

The Supreme Court Administration has come out with odd-even scheme under which lawyers can use their chambers in the court premises from 10 am to 4 pm on alternate week days.

“The Lawyers Chamber Blocks would follow the timings 10 am to 4 pm (Monday to Friday, except holidays) and 10 am to 2 pm(Saturday, except holidays), followed by sanitisation of the Blocks; on Sundays and holidays, the Blocks will remain closed for deep cleaning and sanitization,” a circular issued by SC said.

Under the new set of guidelines issued by SC, only the lawyers and their staff wearing masks will be allowed entry into the chambers blocks on “production of proximity card or letter of authority” and they will have to undergo thermal-screening, it stated.

The decision follows representations made by Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA) for allowing lawyers to access their chambers in view of the court’s decision to postpone its summer vacation by five weeks and function till June 19.

The Supreme Court has been functioning in a restricted manner taking up only urgent cases via video-conferencing during the lockdown since March 24. Lawyers’ chambers in the court premises were also sealed.

SCBA and SCAORA will arrange for thermal screening and filling up of self-declaration forms by all the entrants and those found symptomatic shall be denied entry.

It would be mandatory to use stairs while coming downstairs from lawyers’ chambers, the circular said, adding, there will be a “single-entry point” to every chambers’ block fitted with hand-sanitizer machine…”

The circular also advised against use of ACs in chambers, saying it may raise health-concerns in the prevalent pandemic situation.