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Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
34 digital courts shifted: Delhi's lower court lawyers to abstain from work on Monday
Lawyers across Delhi's lower courts have decided to abstain from work on Monday following a decision to shift judges of 34 digital NI Act (Negotiable Instruments Act) courtrooms — which hear cheque bounce cases — across six court complexes in the capital to the Rouse Avenue court complex. Court staff (readers, ahlmads and stenographers) will continue to operate from their respective districts. 'In an emergent meeting, the Co-ordination Committee has taken serious note of unrest amongst advocates against the shifting of digital courts to Rouse Avenue Court, and it has been resolved to register strong grievance/resentment against the same. Accordingly, it is unanimously decided to abstain from judicial work in all district courts on Monday i.e., 09.06.2025, in protest…,' read a circular issued by the Coordination Committee (of all lower Courts) dated June 6. Advocate Dhir Singh Kasana, former Saket Bar Association Secretary, said: 'When we have sufficient courtrooms in Saket, why are our Courts being shifted… We are being told only judges have been moved to Rouse Avenue Court, but a circular outside a courtroom states that all matters will be physically taken up at Rouse Avenue.' Of the 34 courtrooms, 9 are from Dwarka, 7 from Tis Hazari, 6 from Saket, 5 from Karkardooma Court, 4 from Rohini, and 3 from Patiala House Court. On Friday, Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya inaugurated the 34 digital courts at the Rouse Avenue complex to exclusively hear cases under the NI Act. An administrative order passed by Principal District and Sessions Judge and Special Judge Kanwal Jeet Arora of Rouse Avenue Court read: 'The following judicial officers shall occupy and hold their courts in court room numbers mentioned against their names with immediate effect.' 'As per the directives of the Hon'ble High Court of Delhi, New Delhi, vide notification… dated 30.05.2025, the courts shall continue to be under the administrative control/supervision/ jurisdiction of the districts concerned to which these courts belong,' the order dated May 31 stated. This essentially means that while the court staff will operate from their respective districts, all judges will have to sit in Rouse Avenue Court. All rooms have been allotted on the seventh floor of the court complex, which is situated near the ITO Metro in Central Delhi. In a May 30 notification, the HC cited 'optimal utilisation of available infrastructure and resources' and 'inadequate space' to justify the move. 'The remaining arrangement, including support staff deployment and recording of evidence from the respective District Court Complexes, shall continue as per the previous directions/practice until adequate and permanent space is made available in the District Courts concerned to which these Digital NI Act Courts ultimately belong,' the notification read. 'However, these Courts shall continue to be under the administrative control /supervision/ jurisdiction of the districts concerned to which these courts belong. The readers, ahlmads, and judicial records of these Digital NI Act Courts would also continue to function from their original districts so as to avoid any inconvenience to the litigants, lawyers, and stakeholders,' it added.
Indian Express
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Lawyers don't need to wear black coats in summer: Delhi Bar Association
In a major relief to lawyers practising in the Capital amidst the scorching heat, the Delhi Bar Association (DBA) has decided that advocates will be exempt from wearing black coats, their usual dress code, from May 16 to September 30. Rules framed under Section 49(1)(gg) of the Advocates Act, 1961, prescribe a dress code for all practising advocates. This comprises a black buttoned-up coat, chapkan, achkan (a knee-length upper garment with long sleeves, side slits and a standing collar), black sherwani and white bands with advocate's gown for men advocates. Women advocates have to wear a black and full or half-sleeve jacket or blouse, white collar, stiff or soft, and white bands with advocates' gowns or sarees and long skirts (white or black without any design). 'All the members are hereby informed that advocates are exempted from wearing a black coat during summer (from May 16 to September 30) as per amendment in rules under Section 49(1)(gg) of the Advocates Act,1961,' DBA said in a circular dated May 24. 'Therefore, the members are at liberty to appear in the Courts subordinate to the Delhi High Court without wearing a black coat… The members are, however, advised to adhere to other rules of the dress code…,' the circular issued by Vikas Goyal, Secretary, DBA, said. DBA also said the district and sessions judges of various court complexes across Delhi have been informed of this decision. 'This is a very good step. The weather is very erratic and humid. In June, the heat will be way worse. This should be done by all Bar Associations and Councils across North India,' said Advocate Dhir Singh Kasana, former Saket Bar Association secretary. 'Indian district courts lack proper infrastructure in terms of fans, air conditioners, unhygienic washrooms, and sitting rooms, coupled with rising temperatures, it has become a daily physical and mental challenge for the advocates to wear black coats during court hours, especially in summer…This move is a welcome step towards the welfare of the advocates practising at district courts,' Advocate Paras Jain, who practices in Delhi, said. On February 27 this year, the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa (BCMG) issued a circular stating that advocates need not wear black coats from March 1 to June 30 every year. Similarly, Bhopal's Bar Council gave a similar exemption to lawyers from April 15 to July 15, 2025.
