Women lawyers write to HM Amit Shah, seek financial and infrastructural help amid pandemic

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, over 2,000 women lawyers from across the country sought financial assistance from Union Home Minister Amit Shah and requested him to improve the infrastructural facilities of virtual courts.

In a representation sent to the Home Minister on Friday, the women lawyers urged him to take steps to provide financial assistance to the advocates under the Disaster Management Act on reasonable terms and conditions. A copy of the representation was also sent to the Prime Minister's Office, Ministery of Law, and Ministery of Finance.

On July 21, the women lawyers started a signature campaign for the representation, which received over two thousand responses within 40 hours. The signatories also include senior advocate Meera Khadakkar and Archana Pathak. On the following day, the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the matter and asked the Union of India, Bar Council of India, and others to file their response.

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Lack of proper infrastructure

The women lawyers, in a press statement, said that even during the ongoing process of "unlock", the courts have been functioning on a nominal basis and the virtual courts have become common.

"Most of the advocates do not have proper infrastructure and electronic gadgets such as laptops, scanners, good wi-fi for better bandwidth, and even dedicated spaces in the associations to participate in virtual hearings in virtual courts effectively," the statement read.

It further mentioned that if the Home Ministry considers the representation moved by the women advocates, it will be of immense help to the entire community of advocates in overcoming the financial hardships encountered in the face of COVID-19 crisis and will also improve the functioning of virtual courts.

The statement added that women advocates are majorly affected by the financial restraints since March this year due to the limited functioning of courts.

(With inputs from agency)

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