The Kerala High Court clarified that there is no prohibition on the operation of offices of lawyers and their chambers subject to the guidelines and imperatives of the COVID 19 lockdown and subject to such conditions applicable to citizens who travel for purposes that are unexpendable.
Court observed, “the days of lockdown-new and hitherto unknown to all of us-has been testing to everybody, including the judicial system. Nevertheless, the courts have been functioning- adopting innovative technologies- thanks to a substantial extent, on account of the assistance and resolve of the advocates.”
A Division bench of the Kerala High Court comprising of Justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice TR Ravi was hearing suo motu petition initiated after President of the Kerala Advocates’ Association, Laxmi Narayanan, made a request before the bench seeking a direction to the state Government to issue necessary orders to allow the Advocates to open their Chambers/Offices so as to enable them to pursue their professional requirements.
However, Advocate Jayasankar V.Nair, the Standing Counsel appearing for the Central Government, submitted that “Central Government has neither prohibited nor expressly permitted the opening or operationalizing of the Advocates Officers or Chambers; and that all such activities will have to be guided by the imperatives of the lockdown guidelines.”
Thereafter, when the matter was taken up after lunch, Advocate Laxmi Narayanan informed the bench that the Media has misunderstood the proceedings of the Court and it has been reported that “there is a clamp-down even on the movement of Advocates supported by valid affidavits and passes to their offices and chambers.”
The bench thereafter clarified that there was no prohibition from the Court on the operation of the offices of lawyers or their chambers but the Court was only abstaining from passing an order allowing them to do so contrary to the guidelines proposed by the State and Central Governments as regards the lockdown amid COVID 19 lockdown.
-India Legal Bureau