New Delhi, Sep 10 (IANS): Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde on Wednesday said that most of the apex court judges have been advised to sit separately while taking up matters through video conferencing against the backdrop of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The remarks from the CJI came while adjourning a petition concerning the ongoing reclamation work for the Mumbai coastal road project.
The bench, also comprising Justices A.S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian, told senior advocate Harish Salve, who was about to begin his arguments, that it will hear the matter some other day.
The Chief Justice said: "Most of us are sitting separately... we have been asked to sit separately." He added that he hopes everything is all right.
He took up the case from his chamber while the other two judges on the bench were sitting in the courtroom.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the bench that everything will be fine. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi said the case could be adjourned for two weeks.
On September 7, the Supreme Court was informed that Attorney General K.K. Venugopal has gone into self-quarantine, after one of his colleagues tested positive for Covid-19. The information was shared with a bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao and Hemant Gupta during the hearing of a matter connected with the vacancies in the tribunals.
In view of this development, the Centre sought an adjournment in the matter. The bench was requested by Additional Solicitor General S.V, Raju that it should allow a short adjournment in the case as the AG, who was representing the Centre in the matter, has gone into self-quarantine.