Supreme Court Refuses To Issue Notice On SCBA's Plea To Convert Buildings Across Bhagwan Das Road As Lawyers Chambers

The Supreme Court, on Monday, issued notice in a petition requesting to direct the Ministry of Urban Development to convert the entire land measuring 1.33 acres that was recently allotted to the Top Court, situated behind the petrol pump near ITO on the Ring Road, into chamber blocks for lawyers.

However, the Court declined to issue notice on the additional prayers sought in the petition to declare the entire area around Supreme Court as Supreme Court Complex so that all the buildings across Supreme Court on Bhagwan Das Road including the Foreign Correspondents Club, Indian Law Institute ("ILI"), Indian Society of International Law ("ISIL") etc. can be utilized either for conversion into chambers or for re-development as chamber block/use for the activities related to the Supreme Court of India. There was an another prayer to direct the Union Ministry to allot the government bungalow presently being occupied by Foreign Correspondents Club to the SCBA, on which also the Court refused to issue notice.

The matter was heard by a bench comprising of Chief Justice U.U. Lalit and Justice Ravindra Bhat. 

At the outset, the bench asked how the other buildings could be divested for lawyers chamber.  Justice Bhat pointed out that the Indian Law Institute was a deemed university constituted to assist the Supreme Court.

"It's a deemed university(ILI) Mr. Singh. If you understand the remit of ILI, it was to assist court. Which other body of professionals can we assist like this and tell the State to divest their lands? To what lengths will we go?", Justice Bhat said.

To this, Sr. Adv. Vikas Singh, the president of SCBA, stated that he was not asking the Ministry to divest the land but was simply asking to reallocate the land and give the same for lawyer's chambers.  He added that the Ministry has issued eviction notice to the Foreign Correspondents Club.

However the bench expressed disinclination to consider the prayer for converting the entire stretch of buildings across Bhagwan Das road as lawyers chambers.

CJI Lalit also made a remark that there should be a ceiling limit on the number of years for which a lawyer can occupy the chambers.

"I keep saying this, you just have a ceiling till which a lawyer can enjoy chambers for. It cannot be passed down through generations. It is a public property".

The bench also highlighted that chambers were not provided to most. In fact, CJI Lalit stated that he never got his chambers while he was practicing. Justice Bhat  added that he also never got a chamber.  To this, Singh remarked that even Supreme Court Justice P.S. Narasimha got chambers allotted to him after he was elevated.

The bench said that it will issue notice only regarding the 1.33 acres of land. 

"We will only issue notice on the prayer that how the land allotted to be is used. For the present we are issuing notice in respect of Prayer A and let reply be filed in 2 weeks", CJI Lalit stated.

In the lighter vein of things, Justice Bhat jokingly remarked–

"If we listen to you, then we should be getting rid of all residential quarters."

Accordingly, the court stated that presently, it was issuing notice for the 1.33 acres of land alone. The matter is next listed for 30 Sept 2022.

According to the petition, in recent years, the number of advocates practicing in the Supreme Court has increased manifold and the same has spiked the requirement of chambers and other Supreme Court related activities in the Supreme Court vicinity. And therefore, the chamber blocks of the Supreme Court can no longer accommodate the growing number of lawyers eligible for allotment.

"The Petitioner Association has a duty towards its members to meet their growing requirements and ensure that chambers are allotted as per the Seniority list expeditiously. In this backdrop, it is pertinent to mention that chamber blocks of the Supreme Court can no longer accommodate the growing number of lawyers eligible for allotment. As a result, the Petitioner Association requires additional space to cater to the accretion in the number of members in the Association in and around the Supreme Court of India."

Further, out of the 1.33 acres of land were allotted to the Supreme Court only 0.5 acres have been earmarked for the chamber blocks for lawyers and only 400-500 chambers can be constructed on the said land. "This land admeasuring 1.33 acres is the last piece of vacant land available near the Supreme Court and must be entirely utilized for constructing chamber blocks for lawyers", the plea reads.

The members of Petitioner Association are integrated and indispensable part of administration of Justice and chamber for a lawyer will facilitate this same, as per the plea

"The non-allotment of chambers due to the dearth of chamber blocks will violate the fundamental rights of the members as enshrined under Article 14, 19(1)(g) and Article 21 of E the Constitution of India. The same poses an impediment to the members of the Petitioner Association to practice their profession."

Case Title: SCBA v Ministry of Urban Development | W.P.(C) No. 640/2022

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