Did the Supreme Court slip up in its handling of the Covid-19 crisis? Late last month, 20 senior advocates had suggested precisely that, saying the SC was exhibiting symptoms of its Emergency-era mindset. Former Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi strongly disagreed with the view, but former attorney general Mukul Rohtagi felt the court had not reacted when it should have. Both were speaking at a webinar on ‘Covid 19: Constitutional and legal challenges’ organised by the School of Law, Bennett University, on Friday. Justice Gogoi, now a member of the Rajya Sabha, said attributing “ill will to the institution as a whole or individual judges only serves to adversely weaken the institution”. But Rohtagi chose to differ. “Covid has affected the entire world. Dreadful scenes of migrants walking for thousands of kilometres. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court didn’t react when it should have,” he said.