The Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA) has written a letter to the Chief Justice of India, Dr. DY Chandrachud, expressing their concern over the sudden listing of fresh miscellaneous matters during the summer vacations. According to the letter, these matters were neither mentioned nor requested for listing before the vacation benches of the Supreme Court.

The SCAORA members were previously informed that if the counsels did not appear, the listed matters would be adjourned after the vacation period.

Justice PS Narasimha had also assured the SCAORA members that he would discuss with the Chief Justice the issue of not listing fresh matters during the summer vacations and only listing urgent mentioned matters.

The letter highlights a notice that was issued stating that fresh matters, without any urgency, would be listed during the summer vacations regardless of their subject category. The SCAORA argues that this direction contradicts the understanding given to its members, which was that only urgent matters falling under specific categories and those mentioned before the Supreme Court would be listed during the vacation period.

The letter further explains that the late issuance of the notice, just before the summer vacations, has caused serious concerns for the bar members, particularly those who are not originally from Delhi and have already made travel arrangements. They would not be available during the vacation period.

Additionally, the sudden listing of non-mentioned matters has caught many members off-guard and unprepared, as they may not have brought their necessary materials such as books, briefs, ropes, and laptops with them to their travel destinations.

Consequently, they are unable to avail the facility of hybrid hearings. Some members may also be traveling to areas with no connectivity or high-speed internet, further exacerbating the difficulties they face.

Considering the practical challenges faced by the members, the letter requests that only those matters be listed for hearing that have either been mentioned or for which an application by counsel for an urgent hearing has been made.