Advocate Abhinav Ramkrishna had filled a plea in the Supreme Court stating that the government has remained a mute spectator to the hardships faced by lawyers during the COVID-19 lockdown was dismissed after the Court observed that the petition could not be filed invoking Article 32 of the Constitution.
The petition had urged the Court to issue directions so that the government, in tandem with state Bar councils, formulates a uniform welfare scheme for all lawyers affected by the lockdown.
The petitioner highlighted that lawyers were finding it difficult to sustain themselves in the wake of the closure of Courts. The petition stated,
“The government, Bar council of India and state bar councils cannot be expected to be in a state of deep slumber or be insensitive towards the economic and mental hardship faced by lawyers, except few upon who have achieved a milestone by dint of their hard work and acumen”.
Justice Ashok Bhushan stated that the plea could not have been filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, which is primarily invoked on the violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution.
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