Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka on Sunday urged advocates to work like any other frontline worker with a ‘soldier’s spirit’ during the pandemic.
Speaking on “Challenges before the legal fraternity in Covid times” at a webinar organised by the Advocates Association of Bangalore (AAB) on Sunday, Justice Oka said the second Covid-19 wave has a devastating effect on the state’s judiciary.
Since imparting justice is the primary duty of the profession, advocates should fight in the right spirit to face the challenge, he said.
The Chief Justice said 190 advocates and 16 staff members of the judiciary in the state have succumbed to the infection in the last month. This apart, 19 judicial officers and 660 staff members contracted the virus and a majority of them have recovered.
As one of the steps, minimal functioning of courts had to be followed, though it was not a proper step in the interest of justice to litigants, especially the poor, working class waiting for justice and those languishing in jails, Justice Oka said.
He said the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the functioning of the courts from May 24 had to be issued considering the surge in the second wave.
He said Bengaluru city recorded over 20,000 cases per day continuously for more than a week in the second wave as against a maximum of 7,000 cases in a day during the first wave.