In a first, SC allows lawyer to plead case from home

Legal practitioners welcome decision; urge all high courts to provide same facility

ISLAMABAD:

For the first time, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has allowed a senior lawyer to represent his client from home using a video-link facility — in view of the contagious coronavirus disease.

A three-judge bench, led by Justice Mushir Alam, on Monday ordered technical staff of the Sindh High Court to make arrangements for senior lawyer Khalid Anwar next week so that he may plead his case from his home using video link. Anwar could not come to the SC Karachi Registry due to Covid-19.

The move is significant against the backdrop of the coronavirus contagion, which caused the death of Peshawar High Court chief justice Waqar Ahmed Seth on November 13. Two senior lawyers — Sardar Aslam and Zahid Bukhari — have also died due to the infection while five judges of a high court have been affected by the disease.

Senior lawyers welcomed the SC decision and urged all high courts to provide videolink facilities to the lawyers so that they could argue their cases from home. At present, only the Islamabad High Court has offered such a facility to its pleaders. At the IHC, some lawyers have even argued their cases from abroad.

A lawyer pleaded in the sugar case from Canada. All over the world, including India, lawyers are being allowed to plead cases from home due to Covid-19. A senior lawyer said a colleague recently presented arguments before the UK Supreme Court from Lahore.

“It is imperative for an efficient administration of justice in the 21st century and more so during these testing times of the pandemic,” said the legal expert.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed has already observed that the huge backlog of cases at the apex court is the biggest challenge.

Currently, 45,959 cases are pending in the Supreme Court. Senior lawyers believe that pendency can only be decreased through extending the video-link facility and lawyers should be allowed to argue their cases from home during the pandemic.

They said the CJ should summon a meeting of the National Judicial Policy Making Committee (NJPMC) to evolve a strategy to facilitate litigants and lawyers in the prevailing situation. The NJPMC is a consultative body comprising all chief justices of superior courts. A senior lawyer, who is involved in international arbitrations, said all work at the foreign courts is being done through video link and that he is taking part in all proceedings from Pakistan.

In April, a division bench led by Justice Qazi Faez Isa had proposed a mechanism of hearing cases via video link amid the spread of Covid-19 virus and consequent difficulties faced by litigants and counsels.

The order proposed that each courtroom or bench be provided with a Wi-Ficonnected cell phone while the number of the cellular device should also be mentioned in the cause list as well as on the SC website.

The proposal also suggested that applications such as Skype, WhatsApp, Telegram or any other suitable videoconferencing platform be installed in the said Supreme Court cell phone and the counsel should also be asked to install the same application in their devices.

After the identity of the counsel is verified, cases may be heard by the use of the said video-conferencing application, the bench had proposed. It also suggested maintaining transparency and openness during the proceedings and that the screen of the court’s cell phone may be mirrored on television sets which are already installed in every courtroom.

“The possibility of preserving the recording of the court proceedings (for six months) be explored.”

The bench also recommended that this task be assigned to the SC information and technology department. However, before using the proposed system, the IT wing should ensure successful trial runs. The bench had also referred this proposal to the CJ for approval.

The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), offices of the Attorney General for Pakistan and the advocate generals and prosecutor generals be given a demonstration of the workability of the proposed system and consider their suggestion, said the court. The bench had given the proposals while hearing an adjournment application filed by a counsel, who was above 60 years of age, and who was advised to go into self-quarantine.