SCBA writes to law minister seeking vaccination for legal fraternity

New Delhi, Jan 18 (IANS) The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on Monday wrote to Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad seeking vaccination for judges, lawyers and judicial staff, which could bring back normalcy to the functioning of the courts at the earliest.

“We request that the present vaccination programme be extended to all who work in the judicial system at the earliest to usher in normalcy in the working of the judicial system. This will restore the faith of the people in the judiciary,” said the letter written by Kailash Vasdev, Vice President, SCBA.

The lawyers’ association insisted that the opening of the court halls and hearing in physical form are of seminal importance. “We would request you to include judges, judicial staff and members of the legal fraternity in the category of frontline workers so that appropriate remedial measures are taken to prioritise and extend this vaccination programme to this class of citizenry,” added the letter.

Presently, the vaccination programme is confined to only healthcare workers and it will be extended to others in a phased manner.

The association cited that it is close to a year since the judicial proceedings in all courts went virtual. “Restricted audience, absence of examination of witnesses, limited hearing of cases (bar classified urgent cases), malfunctioning of software programmes operating the video system and delays in hearing are leading to a crisis not only for the litigants and lawyers, but also for many who draw their sustenance from the courts,” said Vasdev.

The lawyers’ body emphasised that the judicial system is a sacrosanct limb of the constitutional scheme and is second to none in rendering service to the people.

“As a respected and senior member of our fraternity, you are well versed with the prevailing situation and would use your good offices to ensure that the vaccination programme is extended to the judicial system at the earliest,” added the letter.