New Delhi: Supreme Court Bar Council President and Senior Advocate Vikas Singh has written to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud regarding the listing of a matter concerning the life and livelihood of the members of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA). Advocate Vikas Singh has said that we are also being treated like ordinary petitioners. The kind of priority that should be given, is not being given.
Senior advocate Vikas Singh in his letter to CJI Chandrachud has said that 'with the kind of partiality being done to us, hope that such a situation does not arise that we have to resort to protest for our demand'. Vikas Singh has written in his letter that it has always been the practice in the apex court that on a given day the listed cases are heard and the general cases are not heard on that day by giving priority to the listed cases. The cases which are on the list, many times the petitioners come from far away or from other cities, and the lawyers also have to do a lot of preparation.
According to media reports, Advocate Vikas Singh has written in his letter that 'his chamber plays a very important role in a lawyer's life. During the tenure of former Chief Justice (CJI) NV Ramana itself, 40 percent site plan of the Chambers was prepared on the earmarked land. He himself wanted to lay the foundation stone of the Chamber Block. This is the last vacant land closest to the apex court. The Bar Council had filed the writ petition so that chambers could be constructed on the entire 1.33 acres of land. The delay in this matter is affecting the livelihood of lawyers and members of the Supreme Court Bar Association.
Let us tell you that the Supreme Court Bar Association has filed a petition in the apex court and has sought an order to the Ministry of Urban Development to allot 1.33 acres of land located behind the apex court to build the Supreme Court lawyers' chamber. Hearing the petition of the Supreme Court Bar Association, the apex court issued notice to the ministry on September 12, 2022, and fixed November 3 as the next date of hearing.
However, the matter was later adjourned till November 21 and the hearing was not held on that day also. The next date of the matter was January 9, 2023, but on that day the bench got up at 4.30 pm and the matter could not be heard. The matter was again mentioned on January 10, but no date was given for the hearing. Advocate Vikas Singh had raised the matter before CJI Chandrachud on January 10 as well. Later, CJI Chandrachud made a scathing comment on Advocate Vikas Singh's reaction and said that the rules we make in our court will be the practice, and no one should try to dictate us.
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