HAMZA LAKDAWALA & NAVAZ DORDI examine whether regional benches of the Supreme Court are permitted by the Constitution, and argue for making the physical-online hybrid hearing model in the Supreme Court permanent by enumerating the benefits that would accrue to the justice delivery system from the same.

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INDIAN Courts, which had moved virtual in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, are finally starting to switch back to physical hearings.

This return started off with lower courts, which were followed by the High Courts in Bombay and Karnataka, and finally the Supreme Court of India. While some of these have gone completely physical, others have chosen to continue in hybrid mode.

Lawyers of all standing and seniority, who had gotten used to appearing in courts remotely from their hometowns and vacation destinations, are now finding it difficult to return to physical hearings. Further, the Supreme Court’s decision to go completely offline on certain days has upset non-Delhi lawyers, who enjoyed the privilege of appearing before the top court whilst still being in their hometown. This has again given rise to the debate surrounding the seat of the Supreme Court, the demand for regional benches, and the future of the technology in Indian litigation.

Every few years, there is a renewed demand for regional benches of the Supreme Court of India. These demands often include the want for new benches of the Supreme Court to be set up in the original presidency towns, that is, Bombay (now Mumbai), Madras (now Chennai), and Calcutta (now Kolkata), in addition to its existing seat in Delhi. These demands are made with the goal of widening the reach of the court to litigants outside of the country’s capital.

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