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The apex court of India on 10th July 2020, in the case of M/S Marathe Hospitality v. Mahesh Surekha SLP(C) No. 8139/2020 has directed NCLAT to find an online medium of hearing cases since "the doors of justice cannot be closed. NCLAT had suspended its working from 26th June to 10th July sine one of its staff members tested positive for COVID-19. On 2nd July it was informed that the online mode would also remain suspended.
A three-judge bench of Justice Arun Mishra, Justice S. Abdul Nazeer, and Justice Indira Banerjee has requested NCLAT to start its operations through online medium and hear this matter on interim stay. The petitioner had filed an appeal before NCLAT, but justice has been delayed due to the ongoing pandemic. Before a staff tested positive NCLAT had also been hearing matters virtually, but the operations were suspended in light of the staff member being tested positive. A Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) had also been issued before, which can still be followed.
Online hearing is a method on which most of the courts have been relying since the lockdown. In order to keep the social distancing norms and to ensure that justice is not delayed online hearings and filings should be conducted so as to reduce the number of cases when the courts and tribunals physically open. This pandemic has taught us the importance of digitalization and has provided a stepping stone towards a future where justice would be provided virtually without much delay.
The bench has correctly said that "the doors of justice cannot be closed". Since there still exists an option to hear matters virtually and provide justice, it should not be delayed due to a member being tested positive for COVID-19. NCLAT should resume its operations as soon as possible so as to avoid any further delay in hearing and providing justice to the sufferer.
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