Declare Members Of The Legal Fraternity As Front-Line Workers, Vaccinate Them – PIL In Bombay High Court

The petition filed by two advocates from Raigad district in Maharashtra, Vaishnavi Gholave and Yogesh Morbale, states that not just judicial officers, but advocates and their staff must be included in the list of frontline workers.

"Judiciary is declared as one of the essential pillars of democracy. The members who are part of this pillar includes the Judges, court staff, advocates and their clerks. Hence they are equally important along with the other staff," the petition reads.

They caution that there is a sharp increase in the number of corona patients and deaths in the legal fraternity owing to the gradual opening of courts across the state.

"Majority of the Judges of this Hon'ble Court are above the age of 45 years, there is a high risk that they are affected by the coronavirus, which would affect the work of justice delivery."

The plea states that even during the nation-wide lockdown, the judiciary did not fail to perform its duty. "There was online filing, urgent matters were heard, Judges and officers of the court were always discharging their duties though being the difficult times."

The petition states that the Union of India, through the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued a "Covid 19 Vaccines - Operational Guidelines" on December 12, 2020, which prioritizes the vaccine for health caseworkers and other front-line workers like police personnel, armed forces, home guard, prison staff, disaster management volunteers and municipal workers, apart from population above 50 years with co-morbidities.

"Governments should not be tempted to perceive the present crisis as an opportunity to overlook the essential role of Judiciary and their officers, which could not have been fulfilled with the active support of the Advocates," it reads.

The petition, filed through advocate Vinod Sangvikar emphasizes the role played by lawyers practising in subordinate courts who travelled long distances during the lockdown due to the absence of online hearings in these courts. "There is a grave injustice done by the government is not recognizing the members of the legal fraternity as the front-line workers even though declared essential," it reads.

The petitioners state that following the HCs intervention, lawyers are now allowed to travel by local trains. "Advocates are now covered under essential service and the concept of Advocate and Judge coming in contact of germs/ virus and being exposed is high as the document received by the client, meeting with clients and the document being tendered to the Court during arguments all can contain germs of this novel disease, as per the above definition the Judges and Advocate are no less than frontline workers," the petition states.

The petition says that by not declaring the members of the legal fraternity as front-line workers and not providing them vaccination on priority they are deprived of their right to life and health under Article 21 of the Constitution. "By corollary, the judiciary is duty-bound to examine the actions of the State, and hold it up against the constitutional standards."

The petition, therefore, says that "It ought to be held that acts of commission and/or omission on the part of the State as well as the Central Government in depriving the members of the Legal Fraternity from being declared as the Frontline Workers category, is arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable and in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India."