HC recalls order of issuing NBW in appeal of 1998
The Hindu
Court passes strictures against lawyers for not taking up appeals against those on bail
The Bombay High Court has recalled an order of non-bailable warrant (NBW) in an appeal of 1998 after it was learnt that the murder accused was disabled and could not appear before the court.
A Division Bench of Justices Sadhana Jadhav and Prithviraj Chavan was hearing the criminal appeal filed by Balasaheb Varhade, who was a 23-year-old then. Several lawyers in the case had sought several adjournments from 2005 to 2020.
The court remarked, “We are insisting the advocates to proceed with old matters besides hearing jail appeals. We have noticed that in most of the matters ‘where the accused are on bail’ the advocates have a tendency to seek an adjournment on one or the other count. In many cases, we have had to issue bailable warrants, then NBW. In certain cases, the court had to issue notice to the accused in custody, informing them that the advocates engaged by them do not appear or that they are now representing the prosecution and therefore, unable to conduct the matter.”
Several principals of government and private schools in Delhi on Tuesday said the Directorate of Education (DoE) circular from a day earlier, directing schools to conduct classes in ‘hybrid’ mode, had caused confusion regarding day-to-day operations as they did not know how many students would return to school from Wednesday and how would teachers instruct in two modes — online and in person — at once. The DoE circular on Monday had also stated that the option to “exercise online mode of education, wherever available, shall vest with the students and their guardians”. Several schoolteachers also expressed confusion regarding the DoE order. A government schoolteacher said he was unsure of how to cope with the resumption of physical classes, given that the order directing government offices to ensure that 50% of the employees work from home is still in place. On Monday, the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had, on the orders of the Supreme Court, directed schools in Delhi-NCR to shift classes to the hybrid mode, following which the DoE had issued the circular. The court had urged the Centre’s pollution watchdog to consider restarting physical classes due to many students missing out on the mid-day meals and lacking the necessary means to attend classes online. The CAQM had, on November 20, asked schools in Delhi-NCR to shift to the online mode of teaching.