MUMBAI: Bombay high court removed a matter from board after seeing that a counsel for the appellant had removed his mask.
Justice
Prithviraj Chavan was on February 22 hearing a first appeal along with a civil application pending since 2018. But he observed, “counsel for the appellant has removed the mask despite guidelines.’’
The Judge passed an order then pointing out that the standard operating procedure (SOP) for resumption of
physical hearing at the principal seat,
High Court of Bombay, with effect from January 11, 2021 contemplates “wearing of mask at all times, even during arguments in courts’’ is mandatory.
The SOP also requires strict compliance of
social distancing and says entry to court rooms for physical hearing stands restricted to: “one advocate per party whose vakalatnama is on record or who has been duly authorized and whose case is listed for hearing on board of concerned court.’’
The other restrictions include entry to court for “Senior Counsel / ongoing counsel engaged by any such Advocate; Registered clerk only for limited purpose of delivering heavy and bulky case files of such
Advocates at the designated point; Party-in-person, where such party is pursuing the case without any legal assistance.’’
It also says, “Entry in the Court Room shall be permitted to those Advocates/Party-in-person whose matter is called out for hearing and also for the Advocates whose matter is immediate next subject to availability of space.’’
“Rest of the Advocates may wait outside the court rfoom/ bar room, while maintaining social distancing norms’’ and that the “Display Boards shall be functional for their information and convenience.’’
The SOP expects that “Strict adherence to social distancing norms inside the Court room shall be followed by all concerned.’’
The “mandatory norms’’ which are to be followed “by all the concerned who are permitted to enter the Court premises or court rooms’’ also require lawyers to be in “usual court attire’’ and to adhere to “all directions , guidelines, advisories issued by’’ the Centre and state in respect of Covid-19.
The Judge noted that even for ‘physical filing’ of cases it is mandatory for all to be “wearing a mask all the time’’ and maintain social distance.
Thus, the court directed, “the matter be removed from the board.’’