In a significant order, the Bombay High Court recently said it won't hear matters if the advocates arguing for a case do not wear masks. The HC clarified that the advocates and litigants must follow the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
A single-judge bench of Justice Prithviraj Chavan refused to take up a matter after seeing that the arguing counsel wasn't wearing masks.
The judge ordered to remove the matter from his board and did not hear the matter further.
In his orders, the judge referred to the SOP issued by the HC administration on January 11, which is still in force.
As per the SOPs, it is mandatory for everyone entering the court premises to wear a mask. It also makes mandatory for advocates to wear a mask even at the time of arguing a case.
"Every person entering the Court premises shall mandatorily wear a mask at all the time and follow the SOPs issued by the state government, staff of the court shall use sanitiser and mask as indicated in the health advisories already issued. The social distancing shall be the rule for all movements in the Court premises including at the entry points," the SOPs state.
Notbaly, Justice Chavan has been following the SOPs duly as he has restricted entry of litigants in his courtroom. At a time only three people are usually allowed inside his courtroom.
