New Delhi, Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde on Wednesday took note on the excessive crowd in the courtroom ahead of the hearing on the 140 petitions challenging the Citizenship Amendment Act and said there was a need to devise a mechanism to tackle the menace.
A bench, headed by Chief Justice Bobde and comprising Justices S.A. Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna, observed that the courtroom was packed to the last bit and it was extremely difficult to hear arguments advanced by senior advocate Kapil Sibal in connection with the urgent mentioning of the matter. The court said this overcrowding has become a critical problem, and it leads people pushing each other.
Attorney General K.K. Venugopal, appearing for the Centre on the CAA matter, said: “This is a problem not only in courtrooms, but also on the corridors”.
The Chief Justice said that they may look into engaging specialists on this movement of people on the court premises. He also insisted on convening a meeting of law officers, and senior advocates to come out with a workable solution to control the crowd.
As a lawyer mentioned that women are also being pushed, the Chief Justice replied: “Why should men be pushed…pushing is inhumane.”
Sibal suggested the Supreme Court Bar Association can be involved to ensure lawyers follow rules and discipline. The Attorney General, in the previous hearing, cited the example of the Pakistan Supreme Court where a lectern is set up for a lawyer to stand argue the matter.
