SC judges advised to sit separately as precautionary step due to Covid: CJI

Chief Justice of India S A Bobde on Wednesday said that Supreme Court judges have been advised to sit separately while conducting the proceedings through video conferencing as a precautionary measure amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The remarks of the Chief Justice came during the hearing of matter related to Mumbai Coastal road project.

Besides the CJI, the bench also comprising Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian told senior advocate Harish Salve that it would hear the matter some other day.

We will hear (the matter) some other day as we are in difficulty today. We have been asked to sit separately. I hope everything is alright. Most of us are now sitting separately as a matter of precaution, the CJI said.

The Chief Justice further said that as of now everything is fine and they are sitting separately as a precautionary measure.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who also appeared in the matter, told the bench that everything will be alright.

To this, CJI said, Hopefully.

The Chief Justice Wednesday presided over the bench from his chamber while the other two judges of the bench were seen sitting in the courtroom.

Some of the judges including Justices D Y Chandrachud, Indu Malhotra and K M Joseph who are part of a bench have been conducting the court proceedings from their respective chambers.

On September 7, the Supreme Court was informed that Attorney General K K Venugopal is in self-quarantine, after one of his staff had tested COVID-19 positive.