The Supreme Court on Thursday said the air pollution in Delhi was very serious and could cause permanent damage while asking lawyers to appear via video conferencing instead of coming to court.
The bench of Justice PS Narasimha and Justice AS Chandurkar said lawyers should avail the virtual hearing facility and wondered why they were appearing in person given the pollution being categorised severe in the city.
When told by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal that lawyers were wearing masks, Justice Narasimha said it will not suffice and that masks were not enough, while adding that it will be taken up with the Chief Justice of India as well.
The Commission for Air Quality Management, which monitors air quality in Delhi and the National Capital Region, had categorised the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi as severe after it touched 425 on November 11, following which Stage-III of GRAP was invoked in the NCR with immediate effect.
Meanwhile another plea was filed in the Supreme Court today which sought that every time the AQI crosses 250, it should be declared a disaster as per the Disaster Management Act. The bench, comprising CJI BR Gavai and Justice Vinod Chandran, which is hearing the MC Mehta case, had called for status reports on stubble-burning and the measures taken by the governments of Punjab and Haryana taken to curb and contain it.