New Delhi, Aug 23 (PTI) A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court against an order of the Uttarakhand High Court that physical hearing of cases, which were suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will resume from August 24.

A notification was issued by the Registrar General of the High Court on August 16 which also contained detailed guidelines to be followed after the resumption of physical hearing of cases.

Also Read | Faridabad Shocker: Minor Raped By Staffer at Private Hospital; Case Registered Under POCSO Act.

The plea filed by lawyers body All India Jurists Association sought quashing of the notification which also said that no request for virtual hearing will be entertained.

“Access to virtual courts and conducting cases through video conferencing by resorting to usage of information, communication and technology is a fundamental right available to every lawyer under Article 19(1)(a) and (g) of the Constitution.

Also Read | Rajasthan Shocker: 54-Year-Old Teacher Brutally Thrashed, Robbed at Gunpoint Inside Public Toilet in Jaipur.

"Being a fundamental right it cannot be defeated or dispensed with on procedural grounds of lack of technology or infrastructure or inconvenience of the courts in handling them," the plea said.

The petition stated that the High Court order is against accessible and affordable justice being propagated by the e-committee of the apex court.

It has also sought directions that no lawyer in ordinary circumstances should be denied access to virtual courts or any category/class of proceedings before the High Courts.

The lawyers body has also sought a direction to restrain all high courts from denying access to lawyers through virtual mode of hearing on the ground of availability of physical hearing.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)