Virtual hearings mere circus on show for public: Calcutta HC judge

KOLKATA: Repeated disruptions in net connectivity on Friday forced a Calcutta High Court judge to remark that virtual hearings had been reduced to a “joke” and “a mere circus on show before the public”.
Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya finally called the officer in charge of connectivity and asked him to explain the repeated link failures after online proceedings were disrupted around 15 times since the hearing started around 11.10 am.
“The Central Project Coordinator shall ensure that a show-cause in writing is filed by 3pm and sent to my chamber, elaborating the connectivity issues. I shall not sit in court to conduct an empty stage show till the issues are resolved in full,” Justice Bhattacharyya said, adding that a copy of the order be communicated to acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and the court’s registrar-general.
“This court is unable to sit any longer till the connectivity issues are resolved entirely. I categorically refuse to be a part of such circus because I have taken oath to deliver justice to litigants, who are outside the court and beyond the reach of the air-conditioned rooms accommodating judges and are toiling in the sun and the dust outside,” Justice Bhattacharyya noted in his order, adding: “Despite the tall talk about virtual hearing facilities, it is unfortunate that this court is unable to provide the minimum virtual services and connectivity in order to ensure that justice is rendered appropriately.”
Lawyers attending the case in Justice Bhattacharyya’s court said he rued being forced to play “dumb charades” during virtual hearings, which had “become a joke and... a mere circus on show before the public” and “not adjudication of matters”.
He personally felt guilty as disruption and interference in functioning of courts, in whatever form, might amount to criminal contempt, Justice Bhattacharyya said. “This has become a regular feature and I feel ashamed that our esteemed chartered high court, which has an illustrious history, is being relegated to such insignificance that we cannot render justice to litigants because of mere connectivity issues,” his order added.
“Connectivity was poor from the very beginning. There were repeated disruptions for 30 minutes, following which the court took exception to the disturbance and called the registrar (listing) and asked him to explain by 3 p.m. the reasons for the repeated link failure,” lawyer Ramdulal Manna said.
Connectivity issues and electronic interference in audio and visual systems have become a regular feature, say both lawyers and litigants. Advocates told TOI that connectivity had been a major headache since cases began to be heard online because of the pandemic. An overwhelming majority of lawyers that TOI spoke to welcomed Friday’s order and hoped it would fix the technical issues.
Senior advocate Bikash Bhattacharya said the problem was so acute that judges often could not hear the entire argument. Criminal lawyer Jayanta Narayan Chatterjee pointed out that the glitches gave an unfair advantage to prosecution lawyers as they were often present in court and could be heard properly by judges while the defence counsel arguments were often made online in the hybrid hearing mode.
Calcutta High Court Lawyers’ Forum Incorporated Law Society secretary Partiosh Sinha said such link failures hampered hearings and caused delays prejudicial to clients.