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The Madras High Court bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee has noted that virtual hearings in the courts have opened up a lot of possibilities subject to the quality of connection being appropriate.

It further noted that the litigants who would have found it difficult to attend court because of the waiting period can now log in when the matter is taken up and observe the proceedings, it noted further that the lawyers have also benefitted from this since they do not have to travel thereby saving time.

These observations were made in a writ petition seeking a writ of mandamus directing the Union to frame a new Scheme of Vaccination to vaccinate students above the age of 18 pursuing higher education, along with teaching and non-teaching staff associated with institutions that provide higher education, on an immediate basis and consequently take effective steps to re-start in-person classes for fully vaccinated students.

The court further observed that while it is important for a student to experience school and college life, online classes have benefitted many students who otherwise would spend a lot of time and resources traveling and the hybrid system has enabled them to choose when to attend classes physically and when to attend them online.

The court noted that the idea behind initiating this discussion was to continue some form of education on virtual mode whether as a substitute for physical mode or in addition to the physical mode, like the hybrid hearings of the court. According to the judgment University Grants Commission and All India Council for Technical Education have filed papers permitting several courses online, while others have not. The court said,

“It may do well for all the nodal bodies to re-visit the matter, without being unnecessarily rigid, so that education may be more accessible, for instance to persons with disabilities who may have locomotor disabilities and face difficulty in travelling.”

The court disposed the matter noting that there are no reports of a further surge though a substantial part of the festive season is already over, and it is hoped that life can return to normal but with lessons learnt from the pandemic.

Cause Title: Nervazhi Iyakam vs Union of India