The Supreme Court issued notice on Monday over a petition filed by the Supreme Court Bar Association, seeking directions over use of land allocated to SCBA for building the chambers of lawyers.
The Bench of Chief Justice U.U. Lalit and Justice S. Ravindra Bhat, however, refused to entertain the part of petition, seeking relocation of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club opposite the Supreme Court complex.
The CJI told Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, representing the SCBA, that their demands were ‘ever-increasing’. He said the chambers were situated on a public property, and they could not be passed down the generations. The Advocates could not keep the chambers forever, he added.
Justice Bhat seconded the CJI and said that the Court could not delve into the property rights of others. He also revealed that both the CJI and he himself never had chambers.
Singh, who is also the President of SCBA, then requested the Bench to cap the number of lawyers practicing in the apex court. Howver, the top court of the country refused the proposal, stating that common areas could be used to build chambers.
The Bench observed that the 1.33 acre land allotted to te Assocoiation, could be used for building of many chambers.
The Apex Court then issued notice to the respondents, seeking their reply on the limited issue of how the land allotted was to be used.