NEW DELHI: With Covid vaccine administration opened for over 60 year-olds from Monday, the Supreme Court has begun the process to get its 30 judges, including CJI S A Bobde, vaccinated against coronavirus.
Of the 30 judges in the SC at present, only Justice Surya Kant does not qualify for getting vaccinated against coronavirus as he is 59-year-old. The SC registry has begun the process for seeking the convenience and choice of the judges about the venue for vaccination.
The vaccination will be done at an earmarked government medical facility, RML Hospital or the medical centre within the SC. “If the judges wish to get vaccinated at the Supreme Court’s medical centre, then they would have put under observation for 30 minutes to gauge the reaction of the administered drug on the recipient,” SC sources said on Monday.
As many as six judges and nearly 600 of the SC staff had contracted the infection during the pandemic, which had led to the shutting down of physical hearings. From March 24 last year, the SC has been hearing cases only through video-conferencing.
However, a committee of Judges comprising Justices N V Ramana, R F Nariman, U U Lalit, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and L N Rao had two weeks back suggested commencement of the hybrid hearing, that is a judicious mix of virtual and physical hearing, which has been demanded vociferously by senior advocate Vikas Singh, who now has been elected as the president of SC Bar Association.
On receipt of the report, which asked the registry to formulate the standard operating procedure for commencing physical hearing three days a week, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and continuing with the virtual hearing of cases on Mondays and Fridays, CJI S A Bobde has said it could commence after taking the advice of medical experts. SC sources say that the hybrid model of hearing could commence in a week or two.
SC sources said it will be better to get all judges vaccinated against coronavirus prior to the commencement of physical hearing.
Of the 30 judges in the SC at present, only Justice Surya Kant does not qualify for getting vaccinated against coronavirus as he is 59-year-old. The SC registry has begun the process for seeking the convenience and choice of the judges about the venue for vaccination.
The vaccination will be done at an earmarked government medical facility, RML Hospital or the medical centre within the SC. “If the judges wish to get vaccinated at the Supreme Court’s medical centre, then they would have put under observation for 30 minutes to gauge the reaction of the administered drug on the recipient,” SC sources said on Monday.
As many as six judges and nearly 600 of the SC staff had contracted the infection during the pandemic, which had led to the shutting down of physical hearings. From March 24 last year, the SC has been hearing cases only through video-conferencing.
However, a committee of Judges comprising Justices N V Ramana, R F Nariman, U U Lalit, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and L N Rao had two weeks back suggested commencement of the hybrid hearing, that is a judicious mix of virtual and physical hearing, which has been demanded vociferously by senior advocate Vikas Singh, who now has been elected as the president of SC Bar Association.
On receipt of the report, which asked the registry to formulate the standard operating procedure for commencing physical hearing three days a week, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and continuing with the virtual hearing of cases on Mondays and Fridays, CJI S A Bobde has said it could commence after taking the advice of medical experts. SC sources say that the hybrid model of hearing could commence in a week or two.
SC sources said it will be better to get all judges vaccinated against coronavirus prior to the commencement of physical hearing.