SC refuses to pass judicial order on bar association’s plea relating to chamber blocks

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to issue a judicial decision on the Supreme Court Bar Association’s plea to convert 1.33 acres of property allocated to the Supreme Court of India into chamber blocks for attorneys, instead directing that the case be handled administratively by the supreme court.

The Supreme Court Bar Association’s petition was dismissed by a bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud. The court stated that such a petition could not be handled on the judicial side and that they are administrative problems rather than judicial ones.

The court stated that it is open for the Apex Court’s administrative side to take up the association’s request since the procedure would require discussions with the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), Supreme Court Advocate on Record Association (SCAORA), and other stakeholders.

The Supreme Court Bar Association has filed a petition with the court. The association was represented by Senior Advocate Vikas Singh. Yugandhara Pawar Jha, an advocate-on-record, filed the petition. SCBA has asked the Supreme Court to instruct the Ministry of Urban Planning to provide approval for the conversion of the whole 1.33-acre plot of land allocated to the Supreme Court behind the fuel pump near ITO as a chamber building for attorneys.

The petitioner also asked the government to turn the whole area around the Supreme Court into a Supreme Court Complex, so that all of the buildings on Bhagwan Das Road, including the Foreign Correspondents Club of South Asia and the Indian Law Institute, may be included.

Among others, the Indian Society of International Law can be converted into a chamber or redeveloped as a chamber block/used for Supreme Court operations or other facilities for attorneys. The petition also asked the ministry to provide the Petitioner with the government home that is now held by the Foreign Correspondents Club.